A Snowy Weekend
by mp111275
Summary: A snowy weekend full of joy, children’s laughter, and love
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** _A Snowy Weekend _

**Author Name:** _Michaela aka Michi_

**Rating:** _K+ to T_

**Classification:** _Harm & Mac / Romance _

**Spoilers:** _Everything up to Season 10 Episode 9 'The Man On The Bridge' (Harm didn't get back his old office though)… the rest of Season 10 never happened in this story… _

**Disclaimer:** _JAG and its character are the property of Bellisario Productions, CBS, and __Paramount_

**Summary:** _A snowy weekend full of joy, children's laughter, and love _

**Authors Notes: **

_- Like always, I've used the internet to get information about the distance between point A and point B respectively between point B and point C. I'm not sure if those distances are correct or not, that's why I could have used an AP (author's privilege) for this story. _

_- A big thanks to my beta and advising team Vered and JJ. Having two Jewish gals as my advising team for a x-mas story was truly a blast lololol. You gals are amazing and I love you! Any left mistakes are mine… _

_- Feedback is always welcome. _

_- This story is in memory of my friend Kim, who I met thanks to JAG... I miss you, Mom. _

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_A Snowy Weekend - Part 1 _

**Saturday **

**December 11, 2004 **

**JAG Headquarters **

**Falls Church, VA **

**9:43 AM **

'Will this never end?' Harm thought as he signed and closed yet another file in front of him before taking a side-glance at the still large mound of papers right next to him. Working together with Mac on the missing Navy's top bio-weapons scientist case this week was a lot of fun, but doing all the old paperwork now wasn't fun at all. Moreover, doing it alone didn't help either.

He was in his office for nearly two hours now, and it didn't look like the paperwork would be done any time soon. Thankfully it was Saturday, because he was quite sure he could do the papers without any disturbance. Harm was the only one in the office today and one look out the window showed him that it possibly wouldn't change. It'd snowed since last night and the ground and trees were already covered with a thick blanket of snow.

Harm chuckled as he remembered Mattie's outburst this morning. She called around seven o'clock to tell him about the huge amount of snow they got in Blacksburg. Mattie revealed to Harm how much she loved the snow and that she hoped they would get a white Christmas this year. They would spend Christmas Day together and Harm had to promise Mattie that, if there would be snow, he would go sledding with her. Her happiness was his undoing and now he had a sledding date on Christmas Day. Just the thought about it made him smile a little bit. He missed her, but also knew it was the right decision they'd made about her situation with her father.

Harm took another file from the pile and opened it with a long sigh. He started to read the papers when suddenly the thought that he'd heard a sound from the bullpen made him stop. Harm stood up and walked slowly out of his office. The nearer he got to the bullpen, the clearer the sound became.

"'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer'?" Harm muttered bewildered to himself when he figured out that someone actually was singing the latest notes of the traditional Christmas song. Even more curious now he continued his way to the bullpen. The moment he walked through the doors of the bullpen he heard the giggles and laughter of children and "Mac?" Harm wondered aloud.

As soon as Harm walked around the corner and was able to overlook the entire bullpen, he saw that he'd been right. Right there in her office stood Mac. She was searching through the filing cabinet while holding a babbling and bouncing baby against her left shoulder. Right next to her stood a little child and even though he stood with his back to Harm, the blond hair, which stuck out under the pompom hat, gave the identity away. They were talking about something that made them laugh and giggle the entire time.

What he saw warmed his heart immensely and he couldn't stop looking at them. For him it looked perfect, like everything he'd always dreamed about. Sarah MacKenzie with a bunch of children around her; his children. Their children. 'God, I hope you didn't take it away from her. From me. From us.'

It was a thought that Harm had many times in the past few months, and it made his heart sorrow. There's a saying that time would heal all wounds, but could time heal this deep and hurtful wound as well? Harm wished he knew the answer, but for once he couldn't come up with one. He couldn't take away the pain she felt; a pain he felt as well.

Harm had no idea how long he stood there and watched them in awe, but suddenly he was brought out of his deep thoughts by a nearby cry.

"Uncle Harm!" Little AJ shouted as he recognized his godfather was watching them from a few feet away. "Auntie Mac, Uncle Harm is here," he continued to shout while he ran right into Harm's arms. "Hi, Uncle Harm," he greeted his godfather while taking off his pompom hat after it'd slid slightly over his eyes.

"Well hello, buddy. What are you doing here?" Harm asked him while he took Little AJ into his arms.

"I'm here with Auntie Mac," Little AJ responded happily and pointed at his godmother's office.

"I can see that," Harm said softly as he and his godson made their way to Mac's office, meeting her halfway in the bullpen. "Good morning, Mac."

"Good morning, Harm," Mac responded gently with a smile, quite surprised seeing him there. "I didn't know you would be here today. I don't remember seeing your car in the parking lot."

"No, I had to take a cab this morning. My car decided to call in sick." Harm chuckled. It surprised him that he actually could laugh and make jokes about it. About two hours ago the last thing he had on his mind was thinking that his SUV not starting was a funny thing. Since he didn't want to drive the corvette through this kind of weather, he had to call for a cab.

"Your car is sick, Uncle Harm?" Little AJ asked sympathetically. "Then you have to go to a doctor with it," he continued so seriously that Harm and Mac couldn't suppress a chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess I'll have to do that," Harm said softly before he sat Little AJ down on his feet again and made a step forward so he stood right in front of Mac. "And how is this little guy here doing?" He asked quietly, running his finger down Jimmy's rosy cheek. The little boy had buried his head in the crook of Mac's neck and was apparently asleep by now.

"He's doing just fine. I think he has a beautiful dream at the moment," Mac whispered and saw the question in Harm's eyes. "He's slobbering down my neck," she explained with a smile on her face. It was a smile, which Harm returned eagerly.

"So, what are you three doing here on a Saturday? And I sure hope you're not here with your 'vette in this weather!" Harm said concerned with a raised eyebrow. "And if so, I don't want to hear about how you got all three of you into that car," he continued with a stern voice.

"No, of course not. My 'vette is parked in the Roberts' garage. I brought Harriet and Bud with their mini van to the airport earlier and decided to get a few cases from my office so I can do some work while the boys are doing their shuteye."

"The airport?" Harm asked astonished before he remembered. " New York City. Bud, Harriet, the Ritz Carlton and a long weekend as a little romantic getaway. A second honeymoon so to speak. I remember now. So, I guess you are on babysitting duty this weekend?"

"Auntie Mac, Jimmy and I'll have a PJ party at her house this weekend," Little AJ explained happily and Harm could see how excited his godson was about their plans. "And Auntie Mac said we would buy her a Christmas tree and decorate it together. Are you coming, too, Uncle Harm? Pleeeaasseeee," AJ asked with big pleading eyes.

Harm got down on his knee so he could look straight into Little AJ's eyes. "I'm sorry, AJ, but I can't. I have to work this weekend. How about another time?"

"Okay," AJ answered quietly. He sounded more than disappointed and it was clearly readable on his face. "Auntie Mac, I'll get my truck from your office, okay?"

"You do that, honey." She ruffled his hair before he made his way slowly into her office. Mac's and Harm's eyes followed him.

"Now that went well," Harm said quietly, feeling just as disappointed as his godson.

"Don't worry too much, Harm. It will be okay." Mac squeezed his arm. "How is the work going?"

"I guess I'll have to take half of the files home with me, so I can work on them tomorrow as well."

"When is the deadline?"

"Tuesday at the latest."

"Here, Auntie Mac, I got your briefcase," Little AJ explained as he got back from Mac's office. He carried his truck in one hand while having Mac's briefcase in his other hand.

"Thank you, sweetie." Mac took her briefcase from Little AJ before she looked back at Harm. "I guess we better let you go back to your work now. But don't overdo it, okay?" Mac said softly.

"Promise. And you three have a lot of fun this weekend, okay?"

"We will. Goodbye, Harm."

"Bye, bye, Uncle Harm." Little AJ smiled and gave his godfather a bear hug before running away to get the elevator.

"Goodbye, AJ," Harm called after him, watching his godson as he put on his blue pompom hat again.

"See, I told you not to worry too much," Mac told Harm gently.

"He's a great kid." Harm then chuckled. "When he doesn't have his fits of raving madness that is."

Mac laughed. "He's five, Harm. He hasn't started to have the real fits yet," she started to say and suddenly lost her smile the moment she said these words, remembering the deal she and Harm had. Harm could clearly see the pain in her eyes and wanted to reach out, just so he could tell her that everything would be okay, that everything would work out for them. But then she started to smile again and continued with a soft voice. "I'll see you on Monday, okay?"

"Yeah, see you on Monday, Mac," Harm responded softly before he lifted up Jimmy's hood to kiss his head. "Goodbye, little fellow."

Harm watched Mac until she reached little AJ, who was already waiting at the elevator. With one last wink and a sweet smile from her and AJ the elevator door closed and Harm was once again alone in the office.

He quickly got a mug of coffee from the break room before he walked back to his office, hoping a miracle had happened and that, while he was talking with Mac and AJ, the pile of files on his desk was gone. "Would've been too good to be true anyway," Harm muttered when he stood in his office and saw the files still there. "Well, Commander, time to get back to your work," Harm commanded himself before he sat down in his chair and got back to his cases with a quiet "Aye, aye, Sir!"

**Harm's Office **

"How about a deal?" A voice suddenly asked a few minutes later from the doorway of Harm's office and made his head snap up in surprise.

_TBC...?_


	2. Chapter 2

AN - Thank you all for the warm welcome and the great feedback. You rock!

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 2 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information _

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**JAG Headquarters**

**Falls Church, VA **

**10:13 AM **

"Huh?" Was Harm's only response. He was too surprised seeing her so soon again.

"A deal," Mac repeated her statement and moved into his office. "You know, when I buckled in Jimmy and Little AJ, I saw this box in the van," she continued and showed Harm the empty files box she was holding in her right hand. "And I came up with an idea. I thought we should use the box to put all the files you still have to work on into it and take them with us. Then I'll drive you to your apartment so you can pack some clothes, toiletries and most of all something to sleep in for the weekend. And when you're done with the packing you'll spend the rest of the weekend with Jimmy, Little AJ and me," Mac explained softly with a glimmer in her eyes.

"As tempting as this sounds, Mac, I can't," Harm answered defeated while looking at the pile of papers. "Right now it looks like I won't even get a lot of sleep over the entire weekend. Having a weekend full of fun with you guys would make it impossible to get the files done by Tuesday," He continued sadly.

"Well you haven't heard the most important part of my deal yet," Mac told him gently with a smile, while she sat down in one of Harm's visitor chairs.

"I haven't yet, have I? Would the Colonel like to tell me about the most important part of her deal then?" Harm asked with a raised eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"Sure, I would love to, Commander. I think you and I could work on the cases together while the boys are either asleep or watching some cartoons on TV. I'm sure we'll be done by Tuesday, if not even earlier. There may be a few files I can't help you out with at all, but I'm sure there are enough things I can do as well."

"Sounds really tempting."

"It does, doesn't it?" Mac smirked. "Harm, I really would like to spend the weekend with you and the boys. And you already know how much Little AJ would love to have you around," she explained gently. "Also I'm sure that as soon as Jimmy is out of his dreamland he'll be more than happy to see his Uncle Harm." Mac smiled and hoped she would finally get Harm to approve her plans.

"Hmmm, let's see. A weekend with you and the boys…," Harm started to say while he looked into Mac's smiling eyes. Then he turned his head to take another quick glance at the pile of files. "Or a weekend with Johnson, Murphy and Co. You know what? I would say, let's get the hell out of here," he decided with a grin and in one swift motion got out of his chair.

"Okay, that's my flyboy. Now which pile is done and which one is still to do and has to come with us?" Mac asked, waiting for Harm's instruction.

"This one we'll have to take with us," Harm answered defeated and pointed at the three times bigger pile of files on the left side.

"Got it." Mac started to put the files into the box while Harm got his coat, cover and briefcase.

"Where are the boys?"

"They are in the car. I didn't want to bring them up with me, since I didn't know what your answer would be. There was no need to risk AJ's hopes being shattered again. I told him that I forgot something in my office and that he should take care of his little brother. The private at the gate promised me to watch them until I'm back," Mac explained.

"Good thinking. Okay, I'm ready. Let's get out of here before fate decides to work against me."

Together they made their way to the elevator.

"So, what's on the agenda for this weekend anyway?" Harm asked in suspense, while they walked into the elevator. The thought of spending the entire weekend with his two favorite boys and his favorite girl brought a nearly goofy looking smile on his face. 'But don't forget that you have to work on the cases as well,' Harm tried to remind himself. 'Yeah, that may be true. But I can do that with my favorite girl.' Harm's eyes twinkled with happiness.

"Well, AJ already told you about our plan with the Christmas tree. I think other than that we'll spend the entire weekend hanging around, watching movies, drinking cocoa, reading stories in front of the fireplace or just cuddling together on the bed. I also had to promise him that we would go sledding if there's enough snow, which I guess is very much a done deal," Mac told Harm with a chuckle.

When Harriet and Bud had asked her a few weeks ago if she would like to take care of their boys over this weekend, Mac knew it would be a great weekend for her. Now that Harm would spend it with them, she was sure it couldn't get any better. It's as if a secret dream of her was coming true. 'Harm and I will spend the entire weekend like we have our own little family,' Mac thought and it warmed her heart immensely.

"Cuddling on the bed?" Harm asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile as they made their way to the car.

His question brought Mac out of her thoughts. She smiled and looked over at him. "Umm, yeah. Believe it or not, the boys like to cuddle. You should enjoy it as long as possible, because sooner or later it will be history," Mac explained as she opened the trunk of the van. "Here you go, just put the box next to AJ's sled and the boys' bags. Do you want to drive?"

"Sure," Harm said and took the keys out of Mac's hand.

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**Harm's Apartment **

**North of Union Station, DC **

**11:04 AM **

"Here we go. Come on in," Harm told Little AJ and Mac, who carried the still asleep Jimmy in her arms, as he opened the door of his apartment. "I'll just go get changed and pack my bag for the weekend."

"Uncle Harm, can I help you pack?" AJ asked him quietly so he wouldn't wake up his little brother.

The moment AJ had found out that his uncle would spend the weekend with them after all, he's wanted to shout in joy. However, Harm and Mac immediately told him to be quiet since his brother was still asleep right next to him. Beaming with joy, Little AJ only had whispered 'cool' and smiled brightly. A smile, which held its place on his face through the entire ride to his godfather's apartment.

"Of course you can," Harm answered his godson's request before he looked at Mac. "We'll be right back," he told her and walked with AJ into his bedroom.

"Sure, just take your time," Mac replied softly before she made her way to one of the living room windows.

It was still snowing and Mac knew that if it wouldn't stop soon, they would have to change their plans for the weekend after all.

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"Hey, you okay?" Harm asked softly when he walked out of his bedroom a few minutes later and saw Mac looking out the window. Tenderly he caressed Jimmy's cheek and got a gentle sigh as response from the sleeping boy.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mac answered quietly with a smile. "I'm just trying to figure out what we'll do if it doesn't stop to snow soon."

"It is really coming down now, isn't it?" Together they watched the thick snowflakes dancing in front of them.

"Yeah, it is. And if it doesn't stop soon, there'll be no way for us to go sledding with AJ or buying a tree for Christmas. By tomorrow we'll be snowed in." Mac explained with a sad tone in her voice. She knew how much Little AJ wanted to go sledding and get a Christmas tree, but now she feared that she had to disappoint him. "Where's AJ by the way?" Mac asked Harm when she couldn't locate her older godson in the living room.

"He's still packing my bag. AJ told me that he's a big boy and could do it all alone. I thought I should at least give him a chance," Harm said with a chuckle. "When were you planning to get the tree?"

"Tomorrow right after breakfast. Yesterday I saw an advertisement in the newspaper from the grocery store near my apartment. They'll start selling trees by tomorrow."

"You want to buy a Christmas tree from your grocery store?" Harm asked with a disliked look on his face. "That's not Christmasish, Mac!"

"Christmas what?"

"Christmasish."

"Harm, Christmasish is not a word," Mac explained with a chuckle.

"I know it isn't a word, but that's not the point here! Mac, we can't go with our children to a grocery store and buy a Christmas tree. We have to do it the right way. They have to feel the Christmas spirit," Harm said thrilled and obviously was missing his Freudian slip.

However, Mac didn't miss it and smiled at the thought that Harm was apparently thinking the same about this weekend as she did. The thought of being together like a family. "Okay, and what would be the right way? How would it be Christmasish, Mr. Rabb?"

"Getting the axe and some straps out of my garage before we'll go hunting for the perfect Christmas tree," Harm explained confidently.

"Going hunting for a tree with an axe?" Mac was so bewildered; all she could do was repeat his words.

"Yes, and I think we should do it right away, before we'll get snowed in," Harm continued, now even more confident about his idea. "With the SUV it shouldn't be a problem to get to the farm."

"I thought you said your car's 'sick'."

"It was just the battery. Someone from my garage came and replaced it. So, what do you think?"

"Going hunting for a tree with an axe."

"Yes, Ms. MacKenzie. So what do you think?" Harm could hardly await Mac's answer and hoped she would like his idea.

"I like it. I never had a self cut tree for Christmas in my life," Mac told Harm softly. Christmas was never a big event in her childhood, and most of the time they had an artificial tree, if they had one at all.

"Then we should hit the road and try to find a tree for us. Why don't I get AJ and my bag from the bedroom, while you entertain our little friend here?" Harm kissed the now woken up Jimmy on the forehead who gurgled back at him, the happiness of seeing his uncle was clearly visible on his face. With a last wave at his younger godson and Mac, Harm was making his way to the bedroom.

"Sure," Mac replied quietly with a dreamy expression on her face while her eyes followed him. 'This will be a great weekend,' she thought and kissed Jimmy's forehead. 'A great weekend.'

_TBC... _


	3. Chapter 3

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 3 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

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**Bellevue Forest Christmas Tree Farm** _

**Choose-n-Cut **

**Bellevue Forest, VA **

**12:03 PM **

"Wow," Little AJ said astonished as he and his godparents stood at the entry of the Christmas tree farm. However, his happiness had less to do with all the snow-covered trees in front of them and more with the wide-open barn a few feet away on their left side. In the barn stood one mother cow with a baby calf, some goats, pigs, and even two donkeys. "Cool," he continued excited.

"ool," Jimmy tried to copy his big brother's words between giggles and started to bounce in Harm's arms while clapping his hands in delight.

Harm looked taken aback at Mac.

"Don't ask, Harm. Harriet is just happy that Jimmy already knew how to say mama and dada before he learned this word from AJ," Mac explained and shook her head.

"Where did AJ learn it anyway?" Harm asked quietly.

"If you knew what's going on in a preschool these days." Mac chuckled and knelt down so she could be eye to eye with AJ. "Why don't we all try to find a Christmas tree first? And when we've found one Uncle Harm can put it on the car, while the three of us take a look at the animals over there," Mac suggested and pointed with her finger at the wide open barn.

"Yes," Little AJ yelled and threw himself into Mac's arms.

"Ye, ye, ye," Jimmy happily answered as well while copying once more his big brother's words.

"Alright, then let's go and find our Christmas tree. Come on," Harm said and held his free hand to AJ so he could slip his own into it. The other hand AJ slipped into Mac's, who was carrying the axe in her left hand, before they made their way into the little forest together. They could have used an offered hayride but thought a walk through the forest would be much more fun and Harm was sure that he could handle carrying the cut tree back to the car.

They spent the next half hour searching for the right tree for Mac's apartment. Most trees were either too short, too long, too thin or simply too full. Little AJ, who'd walked most of the time a few feet in front of Harm and Mac, was the one who finally found the perfect tree.

"What do you think, Mac?" Harm asked but knew the answer already.

"Perfect," Mac replied softly.

"Good job, buddy," Harm told Little AJ and squeezed his shoulder. "Okay, Mac, let's switch. You take Jimmy while I try to cut down the tree."

As soon as Harm had cut it down, they made their way back to the entranceway of the farm, where Harm let the tree be wrapped up before putting it on the car. "Why don't you guys go visit the animals already? I'll follow as soon as the tree is fastened on the car," Harm suggested as he paid for the tree.

"Sure, why not. We'll see you in a few minutes then. Come on, boys, let's go visit the animals," Mac announced before she walked together with Jimmy in her left arm and holding Little AJ by her right hand to the barn.

Harm was following them soon and together they enjoyed a few quiet moments in the barn. While Little AJ liked to pet every animal there was, Jimmy was a little bit scared of them. Every time one of the animals got near him, he buried his head in the crook of Mac's neck. AJ on the other hand couldn't get near enough and wanted to be picked up by Harm so he could be on one level with them.

"Harm, Jimmy and I will take a quick look at the cattle stall over there," Mac said and pointed to the backside of the stall. "We'll be right back."

"Alright, have fun you two," Harm called after her before turning his attention back to Little AJ, who started to giggle hilariously when the baby calf started to lick his outstretched hand.

"That's ticklish," Little AJ said between his giggles, but never pulled his hand away from the raw tongue of the baby calf.

Harm laughed and got down on his knees so he could reach through the fence and fondle the forehead of the calf. "I bet it is, AJ. She seems to like you."

"Yes." Little AJ pulled his hand away from the calf and looked at his uncle with wide-open pleading eyes. "Do you think Mommy and Daddy would allow me to have one as a pet? That would be soooo cool."

Harm chuckled and took his eyes from the calf just to look at his godson. "I think that won't be…," he started to negate his godson's question when he suddenly yelped out in surprise, at once jumping up and onto his feet.

Harm's hand immediately flew to his right cheek, which the baby calf had just licked with its raw tongue, while Little AJ couldn't hold back anymore and started to laugh out loud, holding his belly. "She just kissed you, Uncle Harm," AJ told his perplexed looking uncle in between his laughter. "She really, really likes you."

Harm just pet the baby calf and winked at his godson. "I think I'm a bit too old for her," he only replied jokingly and Little AJ had to laugh even harder now.

"You're silly, Uncle Harm."

"I am, am I?" Harm just responded and joined Little AJ in his laughter.

In the meantime Mac and Jimmy were at the backside of the barn. The moment Jimmy saw the rabbits in one of the stalls, he started to squeal. Mac got down on her knees so he could see the animals better. Jimmy wasn't scared of them at all, since his big brother had one black and white rabbit called 'Peanut' as a pet at home.

"Pea," Jimmy babbled cheerfully.

"No, honey, that's not Peanut," Mac said softly before helping him to fondle the trusting rabbit.

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"Come on; let's find Uncle Harm and your big brother. Auntie Mac is getting hungry," Mac said after a while and got a prompt confirmation from her rumbling stomach.

"'kay. Bibi, pea," Jimmy babbled and waved at the rabbit.

"Harm, I think we should head back. I'm getting hungry and I'm sure you and the boys would like to eat something as well. And it won't be long before the little guy here's getting tired again and needs a good nap," Mac explained as she was back at Harm's side.

"Sounds good to me."

"Auntie Mac, guess what? The baby calf kissed Uncle Harm," Little AJ told her in excitement and with a bright smile on his face.

Mac looked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk at her partner. "Really? Found a new girlfriend, Harm?"

Harm just grinned. "Nah, the kiss was a bit too wet for my style. Why, are we jealous, Marine?" He asked jokingly with one of his flyboy-grins she loved so much.

"You bet," Mac immediately answered him, trying her best to sound serious while she had to fight her own laughter. "And if I weren't so hungry right now, I would have a talk with the Missy over there," she continued and pointed at the baby calf a few feet away from them. Then, without thinking twice, she got up on her tiptoes and quickly licked Harm's left cheek, surprising the hell out of him and especially out of herself.

Now she couldn't hold back anymore and together with Little AJ she laughed out loud and started to leave the barn and a dumbfound looking Harm behind. With a last glance at her friend she winked at him with a wave. "Come on, Harm, hungry marine here," she told him while her thoughts were on overdrive about what she'd just done, not believing she actually did it.

Harm shook his head in wonder and then started to laugh as well. 'This marine,' he thought before looking back at the baby calf. "Sorry, girl, but her technique was much better than yours," he told the animal before following Mac and the kids out of the barn.

"Do we still need to pick up something from the grocery store?" Harm wanted to know as soon as he joined them at the car.

"No, I already did all the shopping yesterday. It should be more than enough for us four," Mac explained as she got Jimmy into his child seat. Little AJ was already buckled up right next to him.

"Good, then let's get moving. It looks like Mother Holle has decided to take a little break as well, so hopefully we won't have much trouble getting back to DC," Harm said as he and Mac got into the SUV as well.

"She'd better come back soon, so there'll be more snow when we go sledding," AJ said sternly.

Harm and Mac laughed. "There's more than enough snow for going sledding, AJ," Harm said before starting the car. "Let's go home."

"Yeah, let's go home," Mac softly copied Harm's word with a smile on her face.

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**Mac's Apartment **

**Georgetown, DC **

**1:59 PM**

The ride to Mac's apartment took much longer than it normally would have due the weather condition and the arisen traffic. By now Mother Holle was fully back in her elements and it was snowing again, now even more than before.

Jimmy had started to get fussy soon after they'd left the farm and Little AJ thought it was best to start singing Christmas carols. However, it only made his brother cry even more. Therefore, Harm started to tell them a Christmas story and soon the little boy had stopped crying and got heavy eyes.

"Here we are," Mac said as they stood in front of her apartment door. "Are you okay with the tree, Harm?"

"Yeah, don't worry. The tree isn't heavy at all. And it for sure is a good workout for me," Harm explained and gave her his best flyboy-grin. As soon as Mac had unlocked the door, he walked into her apartment to put down the tree.

"Oh, hello, Sarah," an elderly woman suddenly called from behind. She stood at the doorway of her apartment, opposite Mac's. "I heard a child singing 'Let it snow' and some laughter. I thought my daughter, son-in-law and little Timmy were here already."

"Hello, Mrs. Ebenezer. Sorry, but it's only us. Little AJ was just performing his favorite Christmas carol for today. I hope we didn't wake you up?" Mac asked worried.

"Don't worry, my dear. He has a lovely voice," Mrs. Ebenezer responded gently.

"Thank you," Little AJ said a little embarrassed and giggled.

"Are you having the kids for the weekend, Sarah?" Mrs. Ebenezer asked when she saw the bags, which Mac was holding in her left hand, and the hardly awaken Jimmy on her right shoulder. "If so, maybe Little AJ would like to come over sometime over the weekend to play with my Timmy."

"Oh cool. Can I, Auntie Mac? Please?" Little AJ begged delighted. He already knew Mrs. Ebenezer's grandson from another sleepover at his aunt's apartment. The last time Mac even had some trouble getting him back into her apartment, since he was having so much fun playing with Timmy and his grandfather's railroad.

"I'm sure we can come up with something, AJ. Thank you, Mrs. Ebenezer," Mac said and smiled at the elderly woman.

"My pleasure, Sarah. I love having them around. Oh, this is my teakettle calling for attention. I'll see you soon. Bye for now," Mrs. Ebenezer said before she turned around and walked back into her apartment.

"Bye," Mac and AJ said at the same time before they walked into Mac's apartment as well.

"With whom were you talking?" Harm asked curiously when he walked out of Mac's kitchen, while Mac closed the apartment door behind her. He'd heard Mac talking with another woman in the hallway and didn't want to interrupt.

"That was my neighbor, Mrs. Ebenezer. She'd heard AJ singing and thought we were her daughter's family."

"Mrs. Ebenezer?" Harm asked with a raised eyebrow and laughed.

"Yes, Mrs. Ebenezer. But she's definitely not the female Scrooge," Mac explained with a chuckle. "Here, could you hold Jimmy for a minute?"

"Sure. Why don't I go and change Jimmy while you make some lunch for him and us?" Harm suggested and took the little boy out of Mac's arms.

"Thank you, Harm. That would be great," Mac said softly. She put down the boys' bags next to the door before taking off her coat. "You can go and change him on my bed. With him it is the safest way," Mac continued with a chuckle and walked into the kitchen.

Harriet had told them more than once how much of an adventure it is to change the little guy. Jimmy's a rather active boy and never able to lie still while getting changed.

"Okay, will do," Harm responded with a laugh of his own.

He knew exactly what Mac was talking about due to his own experiences. However, Harm wasn't only aware of how much Jimmy was moving around while getting changed. Oh no, he also got the world-famous shower from the little guy as well. Back then, when Harm had told Mac about it, she only responded with a 'See, that's a marine. He already has a good aim.' Harm had to laugh as he remembered their conversation in his office.

"Hey, AJ, when you're out of your coat could you bring Jimmy's bag into Aunt Mac's bedroom for me?" Harm asked his godson.

"Sure, Uncle Harm," Little AJ answered with a grin before he started to take off his pompom hat, gloves and finally his winter coat.

"Thank you, buddy," Harm responded and made his way to Mac's bedroom door. He took a deep breath before putting his hand on the doorknob. 'There's no need to be nervous, Rabb. It's not the first time you're seeing her bedroom,' Harm thought, trying to calm himself down. 'No, but the last time there wasn't much left of it. Thanks to Coster.' Harm shook his head, chuckled at his own nervousness and looked down at the little boy in his arm. "A man has to do what a man has to do, right? Come on, Jimmy. It's time to do our job," Harm told Jimmy and walked into Mac's bedroom, followed by his godson AJ, who was carrying his little bother's bag.

TBC…?

_AN – Mother Holle is a fairytale figure by the Brothers Grimm. As a child I always thought that when it was snowing, she was shaking her bed so thoroughly that the feathers were flying. Back then I tried it myself a few times, but other than getting sore arms and a good shaken bed I had no such luck. _


	4. Chapter 4

_**AN – Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews and I hope you like this part too… **_

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 4 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information _

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**2:24 PM**

Mac walked out of her kitchen just as Little AJ and Harm, with Jimmy in his arms, came out of her bedroom. While she'd made their lunch, some leftover vegetable lasagna, Mac could hear the giggles and laughter from the boys in her bedroom. It sounded like they had a lot of fun while changing Jimmy.

"You guys are right on time because the lasagna is ready to be served," Mac told them as she put down the tray with dishes, glasses and some juice.

"Great. I'm hungry," her godson announced with a grin as he sat down in one of the chairs at the coffee table.

"That's good to hear, AJ. Have you already washed your hands?" Mac wanted to know while walking back into the kitchen.

"Yes, Auntie Mac. Uncle Harm told me so," AJ called after her.

"And what about your Uncle Harm? Has he washed his hands?" Mac asked as she came out of her kitchen again, this time bringing the lasagna.

"Yes, Mom," Harm answered and rolled his eyes, trying to sound and look annoyed, but failing totally.

"You're funny, Uncle Harm," his godson told him and giggled.

"Yes he is, isn't he?" Mac said sweetly and stuck her tongue out at Harm as AJ wasn't looking.

"Very mature, Marine," Harm whispered and laughed.

"What can I say? It's the company," she smirked. "Here, why don't you give me Jimmy, so you can start eating," Mac said and took Jimmy from Harm. "I'll get his lasagna. I cut it up and cooled it off. I will join you guys in a second."

"Hmmm, this is great, Auntie Mac," Little AJ said with his mouth full.

"Yeah, it's perfect, Mac," Harm agreed, having his mouth full as well.

"Thanks, guys. Glad you like it."

"What about you?" Harm asked her as soon as Mac joined him on the couch.

"What about me?" Mac wanted to know while starting to feed Jimmy, who was sitting in her lap.

"Don't you want to eat?"

"I will as soon as this little guy here is fed."

"Maybe we should put a part of the lasagna back into the oven? This way your piece will still be hot when you're ready to eat," Harm suggested and took another bite from his piece.

"Or you could feed her, Uncle Harm," AJ told his godfather with a giggle. "Just like she's feeding Jimmy right now."

"I don't think that's necessary, AJ," Mac responded softly and smiled at him.

"That's a great idea, buddy," Harm said at the same time and chuckled. "What do you think, Mac? May I feed you?"

"Like I said, Harm, I don't think that's necessary."

"Oh, you are such a spoilsport," Harm told her with a smirk before looking at his godson. "Isn't she, AJ?"

"Yes, she is, Uncle Harm," Little AJ agreed enthusiastic and laughed.

Mac groaned as she heard AJ's answer while Harm started to laugh as well.

Before Mac knew what happened, Harm was waving his fork with lasagna in front of her while imitating the sound of an airplane. "Air Rabb is ready for landing," Harm announced. "Requesting permission for landing."

While Mac glared at him, Jimmy was very delighted about Harm's doings. He giggled and clapped his hands. "Bbbbrrrrmmmm, bbbbrrrrrmmmm," Jimmy copied the airplane sound and laughed, spitting out some of his lunch in the process.

"You have to open your hangar, Auntie Mac," Little AJ enlightened his godmother about the well-known procedure.

"My hangar," Mac repeated his words and then glared at her partner.

"Just open your mouth, Mac," Harm gently told her and finally could land the fork just as she wanted to answer him. "Air Rabb landed safely."

They spent the rest of the lunch with a lot of fun and joking around. Harm never stopped feeding Mac while she continued to feed Jimmy. After a while, the little boy got cranky and made it clear that it was time for his overdue nap. While Mac got Jimmy ready, Harm went down to the parking lot and got his bag and the files out of the SUV.

When Harm came back into the apartment, he could hear that Mac was still with Jimmy in the guestroom. After setting down his bag next to the door, he moved to the coffee table and placed the box with the files right next to it.

Then he took the tray from one of the chairs and brought the dirty dishes into the kitchen. Just as he was filling the dishwasher, he could hear that Mac and AJ came back into the living room.

"Auntie Mac, can I watch a movie now?" Little AJ asked hopefully with a quiet voice.

"Sure. But you'll have to watch it with the headphone so that Uncle Harm and I can work a little bit. Is that okay with you?" She asked and placed the baby monitor on the coffee table.

"No problem," AJ answered with a grin.

"Okay. So, what movie do you want to watch?" Mac wanted to know as she walked to her entertainment center.

"Umm, can I watch 'Muppet Treasure Island'? Or how about 'Muppets from Space'?"

"Which one is it?"

"The Island," Little AJ answered surely after a few seconds.

"'Muppet Treasure Island' it is." Mac took the desired movie and the headphone out of the cabinet before putting the DVD into the DVD player. Then she gave the headphone to Little AJ, who already sat down on the floor right in front of the coffee table. "Here you go, AJ," Mac said and kissed his head before turning on the TV and the DVD player.

"Everything settled?" Harm asked as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Yeah. Jimmy is out like a light and AJ is watching the Muppets," Mac replied softly. "For the next hundred minutes we should have enough quietness to get a few of your files done."

"Sounds like a plan. Why don't I start a fire and then we can attack the papers," Harm suggested and moved to the fireplace.

"Sure, why not. Just make yourself feel at home, Harm." Mac smiled at him and got one of his own in response. 'I know, I feel like you're here at home,' she thought and made her way to the couch.

"I already feel like being home," Harm murmured to himself while getting a fire started.

For the next hour and a half, Mac and Harm were able to get nearly a third of the files done. They'd started with the simple cases and therefore could make considerable progress.

The quietness in the room was only interrupted when AJ had to laugh because of a scene from the Muppet movie, which happened about every second minute. Ever so often it brought a smile on Harm and Mac's face. Sometimes they could even hear a little snoring noise or a sigh from Jimmy coming out of the baby monitor. Both thought these sounds were better than any music could be.

Harm and Mac were sitting on the couch. Harm obviously really felt like home and had his legs outstretched on the coffee table, while Mac was sitting cross-legged on the other side of the couch. They were delved into their work but couldn't stop themselves from looking at each other occasionally when they thought the other one wasn't looking. However, it happened more than once that their eyes met and it was always completed with a shy smile from the both of them.

"Auntie Mac?" Little AJ was calling from the other side of the coffee table.

Mac's eyes left the paper in front of her to look at her godson. "Yes, AJ?"

"The movie is over," AJ announced and pointed with his right forefinger at the TV.

"The hundred minutes are already over?" Harm asked astonished and looked at Mac.

"Obviously," she responded, being slightly surprised herself.

"Obviously? Mac, where's that human clock of yours? Don't tell me this work was so exciting that you forgot all about it," Harm said jokingly.

Mac simply smirked at him before looking back at AJ. "Why don't you look if your brother is up already? And I think it's time to start with the decorating of the Christmas tree."

"Cool. I'll go and see if Jimmy is awake," Little AJ told them and walked into Mac's guestroom, where he and Jimmy would sleep this weekend.

"Cool, huh? Has someone thought about telling him that he maybe shouldn't use this word?" Harm asked Mac with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. But you only get the answer 'But why? It's a cool word' from him. It's pretty much pointless to tell him not to use it anymore," Mac told him with a chuckle. "Bud and Harriet gave it up after a while. I bet these days you can even find the word in a normal dictionary."

"It could be worse, couldn't it?"

"Yes, it could," Mac answered softly and got up from the couch. "Okay, I guess we're done with the cases for now. With any luck we can work on them more tonight."

"Sounds good to me. So, are we ready for the Christmas tree?" Harm asked and stood up as well.

"I think so. At least when Jimmy is awake we're able to start with the decoration."

"Do you want me to help you get the decoration?" Harm wanted to know.

"No, I'll get it. But if you like, you could get Jimmy. Sounds like he's awake." Mac grinned as she heard the giggles and laughter from him and Little AJ through the door and even louder through the baby monitor on the table.

"I'm already on it," Harm said with one of his flyboy grins and made his way to the guestroom.

"Good. I'll see you in a bit," Mac responded and turned off the baby monitor before walking into her bedroom to get the Christmas decoration out of her storeroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Mac's Guestroom **

"Hey, look who's awake," Harm said with a tender voice as he opened the door to Mac's guestroom, seeing Jimmy bouncing up and down while holding on tightly the edge of his crib.

Jimmy squealed in delight while holding up his arms; showing Harm that he wanted to get picked up.

"Hey, sport. What a nice crib you have here," Harm told the little boy as he took Jimmy into his arms.

Harm was surprised not seeing the well-known travel bed here, which Little AJ already used every time he was spending the night at his apartment. He never expected seeing this luxury solid hardwood crib in natural with straight turned dowel sides here. It had a three-position mattress base in light blue, covered with a smiling moon, some stars and a few clouds. The bedclothes were in the same pattern. "Why should Mac use Jimmy's hardwood crib?" Harm asked himself aloud.

"This is not Jimmy's bed, Uncle Harm," Little AJ told his godfather as a matter of fact.

"It's not?" Harm asked slightly bewildered.

"No, it's not. Auntie Mac bought it for her own children."

"Her own children?" Harm asked, wondering about what Little AJ just told him. At the same time he felt a twinge of pain around his heart.

"Yes. She bought the crib so she could use it for the children she'll have one day."

"How do you know that, AJ?"

"She told Mommy about it. Jimmy and I were spending a weekend here, and while Auntie Mac and Mommy were getting Jimmy ready for bed, Mommy asked her about it. I was playing in the living room and could hear them talking," Little AJ explained softly. "I swear I didn't eavesdrop, Uncle Harm. I know it's not a nice thing to do, but Mommy and Auntie Mac were talking loud enough for me to hear them and the door was open as well," Little AJ started to defend himself.

"Don't worry, AJ. You didn't do anything wrong," Harm told him softly and gave his shoulder a squeeze, feeling that AJ thought he did something wrong. "Why don't we get Aunt Mac and start with the decoration of the Christmas tree?"

"Yes," Little AJ hollered before running out of the guestroom. "Auntie Mac! Uncle Harm said we're going to decorate the Christmas tree now," he continued his screaming, trying to get Mac's attention.

Harm laughed and looked at the wide-awake Jimmy in his arms. "I guess it's decoration time, huh," he told the little boy before moving out of the guestroom as well, taking one last look at the crib. "Oh Mac," he muttered quietly before closing the door behind him.

_TBC..._


	5. Chapter 5

**AN - I just can repeat myself... thank you so much for all the great feedback and your encouraging words. I appreciate it... and here's the next part... hope you like it :)**

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 5 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

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**4:52 PM**

"Hey, guys, there you are," Mac greeted Harm and Jimmy as soon as they walked into the living room. She gave Jimmy a little peck on the cheek and smiled at Harm. "I thought you were lost there for a minute."

"Nah, a pilot never gets lost," Harm told her self-confidently. "Give us five minutes to get changed and then we can start decorating the tree. Deal?"

"Sounds good to me. Why don't I make us some hot chocolate in the meantime?"

Harm gave her one of his flyboy grins. "You have marshmallows?"

"Yup, sure do. Get Jimmy ready and AJ and I will make us the hot chocolate."

"Be right back," Harm answered and walked into Mac's bedroom. "Do you have some Christmas carols, Mac? Decorating a tree without the right music doesn't work," Harm hollered from the bedroom.

"You mean it's not Christmasish, right?" Mac hollered back and laughed. Then she got some milk out of the fridge and a pot out of the cabinet to set it on the stove.

"Exactly. You're learning fast, Colonel," Harm answered and kissed Jimmy's tummy, who giggled in response. "Your Auntie Mac is a really smart lady, did you know that, Jimmy?" Harm told his youngest godson, who gurgled while looking very interested at his godfather. "And a really beautiful one as well," he softly added and took Jimmy's happy babbling as his affirmation.

As soon as Harm had finished changing Jimmy, he made his way to the kitchen, where Mac and Little AJ were still preparing the hot chocolate. "Hmmm, that smells delicious," he told them and tried to get near the stove.

"I made the cocoa, Uncle Harm," Little AJ told his godfather proudly and smiled at his godparents.

"You did a great job, buddy," Harm let him know and ruffled Little AJ's hair. Then he looked at his best friend. "You never answered my question, MacKenzie," Harm told her. "Do you have some Christmas carols for our decoration adventure?"

"The carols from the radio don't work?" Mac wanted to know. "I mean they start playing them soon after Easter is over," she continued with a chuckle. "We shouldn't have problems getting a station where carols get aired."

Harm had to laugh at her comment. "Very true. But no, I don't think the Christmas carols from the radio will do. Only if you want to hear 'Last Christmas' from Wham each and every hour. Then you're very welcome to turn on the radio, Mac," he told her and hoped she would disclaim his offer.

Mac made a face as soon as she thought about the torture that would await them. Jimmy saw his godmother making a funny face and started to giggle. "Thanks, but no thanks," she answered quickly. "There should be some Christmas CD's in my CD cabinet. I think you can choose between Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra."

"What? You don't have the King?" Harm asked astonished, not believing that his best friend's carols collection was missing the King's version. He opened Mac's CD cabinet and was greeted by a full to the brim cabinet with CD's and DVD's. "Wow, nice collection you have here, Mac," Harm told her and tried to find the Christmas selection. Then he looked at Jimmy, who was still clinging to Harm's shoulder. "Now where can we find your aunt's Christmas collection, Jimmy?"

"Thanks, and I think I do have Elvis' version as well," Mac answered as soon as she walked out of the kitchen with two mugs of hot chocolate in her hands. "Need help?" She wanted to know, putting down the mugs on the coffee table.

"Nah, we already found it. I think we should go with Dean, Bing and Frank. You still have the CD changer, right?" Harm wanted to know and looked up at Mac. He got a short nod from her as response.

Soon some traditional carols, the sweet scent of cocoa, a blazing fire and fresh fir were floating through the living room while laughter and happy giggles around the Christmas tree completed the perfect ambience.

They all had a lot of fun with decorating the tree. While Little AJ, Mac and Harm were putting the ornament on the tree, Jimmy was sitting on his blanket, which was outspreaded on the left side of the tree, with some of his favorite toys.

He was watching in intrigue what his brother and godparents were doing. All the twinkling, caused by the strands of lights Harm had installed earlier, fascinated him especially. His godparents often threw a glance at him, worried that he would, unnoticed to them, crawl under the tree, but he wasn't interested in getting nearer the tree than he was.

Little AJ enjoyed the time decorating immensely. They had partitioned the tree in three territories. While Little AJ was doing the lower part of the tree, Mac was doing the middle and Harm the upper part. Sometimes they bumped into each other, but that only provided more giggles and laughter.

Little AJ often 'aaahh'-ed and 'ooohhh'-ed when he got one of Mac's special ornament. Especially the snowman with the wool scarf, top hat and carrot nose he admired. He found a special place for Mr. Snowman, so he always could look at it if he desired.

"Wow!"

Harm and Mac looked at Little AJ after hearing his cry of fascination.

"What?" Harm wanted to know.

"Look, Uncle Harm. Auntie Mac has your plane for the Christmas tree," Little AJ told his godfather in amazement. Then he looked bewildered at his godmother. "Auntie Mac, you'll have to re-paint this one," he said as a matter of fact. "Uncle Harm's plane is yellow, not red. Look," he continued to explain and as proof that the plane was red, he showed his godparents the ornament.

Harm and Mac looked at the ornament he was holding in front of them before looking at each other with a smile. "Yeah, I guess I'll have to re-paint it so it's yellow in the future," Mac agreed with him.

Little AJ was satisfied with his aunt's answer, and found yet another special place for his uncle's plane.

"Wow indeed," Harm suddenly said with a gentle voice while he looked at the object he just caught from the box. Then he glanced amazed at Mac before returning his gaze once more to the ornament he was holding in his hand. "Mac this is beautiful," he whispered astonished.

Mac walked over to Harm, so she could see what exactly caught his interest. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" she softly answered as soon as she saw what he was looking at.

"Can I see it too, Uncle Harm?" Little AJ asked, wanting to know what his godparents were talking about. "Please?"

Harm nodded his head and got down on his knee to show his godson the special Christmas decoration.

"Wow. Cool," Little AJ whispered and looked at his godmother. "That's my brother," he said in amazement and pointed at the object Harm was holding in his hand. It was a crystal holiday ornament. A clear glass with a frosted portrait of Jimmy engraved in the center. Below the portrait was his name monogrammed in a very beautiful old scripture. It had a silk ribbon so it could be hung up on the tree.

"Do you have one of me as well, Auntie Mac?" Little AJ asked while Harm tried to find the right place on the tree for Jimmy's ornament.

"Of course I have, honey. Here," Mac answered with a smile and gave him his own. Then she ruffled his hair before returning to her work.

Little AJ stared at it in astonishment before giving it carefully to Harm. Then he walked to the box, trying to find out if his godmother had more of these special Christmas decoration in it.

"These are really beautiful, Mac," Harm softly told her, repeating his earlier words. "Where did you get them from?"

"I ordered them from a specialty shop in Vermont," Mac started to explain with a gentle voice, never stopping to decorate the tree.

"Is there a story behind it?"

Mac stopped with her work, looked at Harm with a smile and nodded. "A few years ago I found a picture of a Christmas tree my Uncle Matt had in his living room. And I remembered that he always had one of these ornaments with my portrait on it as decoration. I thought it was a very nice family tradition and that I should take it over. That's why I started to collect my very own family ornaments."

Harm responded with a smile of his own when Little AJ touched his arm. "Look, Uncle Harm. Mommy and Daddy," he explained happily and gave his uncle the ornament with the Roberts on it. "And that's Chloe with Jingo, right Auntie Mac?"

"Yes, that's Chloe with Jingo," Mac answered him before picking up his little brother, who was still lying on his blanket, having Winnie the Pooh safely in his arms. "Well, I'm done with my part of the tree. What about you guys?"

"We still have to get Uncle Harm's on the tree," Little AJ immediately answered and moved to the box. "Here." He took the last piece out of the box and gave it to his uncle.

"Thanks, AJ," Harm said and glanced at his own portrait before looking at Mac with a smile on his face. Then he kissed her forehead, for a short moment letting his lips linger on her soft skin. "Thank you, Mac, for letting me be a part of this beautiful tradition of yours," he softly told her before placing it on the tree as well.

Mac took a step closer to Harm and kissed him on the cheek. "You are a part of my family, and everyone who's important to me has a special place in my heart and my Christmas tree," she told him tenderly with a smile before getting the very last item out of the box. "And you're very special and important to me, Harm," she continued with a quiet voice. Then she gave a now slightly befuddled looking Harm the very last ornament she owned. "I guess it is time for the major event of this evening. Who wants to do the honor?" She asked and looked at the two men in front of her.

Harm looked at the item he got from Mac and smiled. "I think it is the perfect job for Mr. Roberts, don't you think so, Mac?"

Mac nodded at him and then smiled at her godson. "Yeah, I think it is the perfect job for him."

With that Harm gave Little AJ the Christmas tree topper, a lighted clear star, before he uplifted him so he would sit on his shoulder. "Are you ready, Mr. Roberts?"

"Yes, Sir," Little AJ proudly answered and attached the lighted star on top of the now fully decorated Christmas tree.

Harm took a few steps back and now stood right next to Mac, who was still holding Jimmy and Winnie the Pooh in her arms. Together they all admired the twinkling tree in front of them for a few moments.

"What do you think, AJ? Did we make a good Christmas tree for Auntie Mac?" Harm asked his godson and tried to look up at him, since he was still sitting on his shoulder.

"Uh-huh, it's beautiful," AJ whispered and threw his arms around Harm's neck to give him a bear hug.

Harm then looked at Mac. "What do you think? Did we do good?"

Mac smiled at him and nodded. "We did very good. It's really beautiful."

"Yeah, I think so too," Harm said and kissed Jimmy's forehead. "The little guy seems to think so too. Now what's next on the agenda?"

Mac looked up at his godson, knowing that he would be able to give the answer. "AJ?"

"PJ party," he screamed in delight and got a round of laughter in response, while his little brother was clapping his hands in excitement.

_TBC… _


	6. Chapter 6

**Another day, another part and another big thanks to all of you... I enjoy your comments immensely and I'm happy that you like my little tale about our dream-team. Here's the sixth part, hope you like… **

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 6 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information _

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**6:07 PM**

"Do you guys want to get ready for the PJ party, or rather eat some dinner first?" Mac asked Harm and Little AJ while they were still standing in front of the beautifully decorated and twinkling Christmas tree in her living room.

Harm sat Little AJ down on his feet and only shrugged before giving her his answer. "It doesn't matter to me. AJ?"

"I want to wear my new PJ for dinner," he promptly answered with a wide grin on his face and ran away to get his bag from the apartment door.

"Sure, why not. Harm, why don't you take a shower first, before we give the boys a bath? I'll take a shower later, while you could maybe make some sandwiches with AJ for dinner," Mac suggested and ruffled Jimmy's head, who was still cradling in her arms.

"Sounds like a good plan," Harm answered with a smile.

"Look, Uncle Harm," Little AJ called from behind and Harm turned around to see what his godson wanted to show him. "This is my new PJ. Auntie Mac bought one of these for me, Jimmy and herself this morning. This way we all have a Christmas pajamas for our PJ party tonight," AJ explained his godfather in excitement and gave him his green suit so he could take a better look. "Mine has Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on it, and Jimmy's has a rompers with Santa Claus on it."

"Very nice suit, AJ," Harm commended with a smile and gave the suit back to his godson. "I guess I'll be the only one here wearing a non-Christmas pajamas." Then he turned around to look at his best friend with a raised eyebrow and a grin. "So… what kind of PJ will you wear, Mac?"

Mac smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "I liked the one with the snowmen and the children on their sleds on it."

Harm sighed and shook his head. "I guess I won't get to see you in your cowboy jammies then?" He asked, sounding slightly disappointed.

Mac smirked and made her way to the bedroom. Short before she walked into the room she turned around to look at him again. "The weekend is not over yet, Harm. Be nice and you may see me in them as well," she told him and giggled, before disappearing behind the bedroom door.

Soon she came out of the bedroom again and placed Jimmy on the couch right next to his big brother AJ, who browsed in one of the many children's books his aunt was having around. "I've put out some towels for you, so you can go ahead and take a shower," she told Harm and took place between her godchildren.

Harm smiled at her and took his bag from the doorway. "Good. Thank you and I won't take long. Promise," he told her and made his way to her bedroom.

"Don't worry, Harm. There's enough hot water for us all. Take your time and enjoy it," she let him know and took the book from Little AJ, who wanted to get a story read by his aunt.

"Auntie Mac," Little AJ whispered into her ear, not wanting his uncle to hear anything. "Can we give Uncle Harm his Christmas present tonight?" He asked her with puppy eyes. "This way he won't be sad tonight. Please?"

"Are you sure you don't want to wait 'til Christmas, AJ? You and Jimmy bought it for him as a Christmas present," Mac quietly asked, wanting to make sure that her older godson was certain about his decision.

Little AJ strongly nodded his head and answered with a loud "Yes!" Then he immediately put his hands over his mouth, hoping that his uncle hadn't heard him, even though there was no way for Harm to know what Little AJ's outburst was about. "Oops," AJ said with a whispering voice and then continued. "Yes, I'm sure, Auntie Mac. I want us to give it to him tonight," he told her quietly. He really wanted to give his uncle the present he, Jimmy and his aunt Mac bought for him this morning. "Jimmy and I can draw him pictures or something for Christmas. I'm sure Daddy or Mommy would help us come up with something else. Please, Auntie Mac!"

Mac only nodded her head and got up from the couch. She could hear that the water in the bathroom was running, and knew that Harm was already standing under the shower. She held her hand to Little AJ, so he could take it and together they walked into her bedroom.

She opened the door of her closet and took out the little cardboard box. It was wrapped in a green wrapping paper and had a red bow on it. On top of it was a little Christmas card, signed with 'For Uncle Harm'. She gave it to her godson. "Here, AJ. Why don't you place it on my bed right next to his bag? I'm sure Uncle Harm will see it when he comes out of the bathroom."

"Okay," Little AJ said and took the gift from his aunt to place it on her bed. "Do you think he'll like it?" He asked, sounding a little unsure now.

"I'm sure he'll love it, AJ," Mac told him and kissed his forehead. Then she took his hand into hers again. "Come on, let's go back to your little brother and read some more 'A Lamb's Tale' before it's time for your bath."

"Yeah."

"Oh, wait," Mac suddenly said and moved back to her closet just to get yet another little present out of it. Just like the bigger one, she placed it on the bed before finally moving out of the bedroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**6:31 PM **

**Mac's bathroom **

Harm took Mac by her words and enjoyed the shower and the hot water. Therefore, he'd showered a bit longer than planned.

It felt so good. Not so much the hot water, but the feeling he had about the outcome of this day. It'd started for him as a really unmotivated day with not much hope for an enjoyable weekend. And now? Now he stood here, in Mac's bathroom, wearing only a towel around his hips nonetheless, and felt relaxed. He felt plain and simple happy.

He always knew that a family life with Mac and children would be like a dream come true; something to treasure. And this day wasn't a disappointment at all and confirmed his knowledge.

It was so much fun to spend the day with Mac, Little AJ and Jimmy. It'd surprised him though, just how much he enjoyed all the Christmas stuff and that he felt the 'Christmasish'-spirit again after such a long, long time. The last time he felt so much happiness about Christmas was while he was still a little boy and went hunting for a Christmas tree with his dad. Back then he told his parents how much he loved the 'Christmasish'-feeling.

But then his dad was gone and so was the 'Christmasish'-feeling.

However, now it was so easy to love everything about Christmas and he was amazed about the fact that it was so easy for the boys and Mac to get him to feel like this. Harm chuckled about his thoughts and walked out of the bathroom to get dressed in Mac's bedroom. "They have way too much power over you, Commander," he told himself with a grin. "Way too much power."

As soon as he left the bathroom, he saw the two nicely packed boxes and moved closer to get a better look. That's when he was able to read the inscription on the card of the bigger one. "For Uncle Harm," he read out loud and took the gift from the bed. Just like a child he shook it, trying to find out what was in it. It made no sound and he was only greeted by silence. "Hmmm," Harm commented in wonder and slowly opened the card. Just like the inscription on the outside was the message on the inside written by Mac.

'Merry Christmas, Uncle Harm! We love you. Hugs and Kisses, Jimmy and Little AJ.'

Harm smiled and started to debate with himself if he should open the gift, or if he should better wait. "If they wanted me to wait, they wouldn't have put it on the bed, where I clearly could see it, right?" Harm asked out loud. "Oh, you're one smart lawyer, Harm," he told himself and was pleased about his answer. With a wide grin he started to tear apart the wrapping paper; once again feeling like a little child.

As soon as the paper was out of his way, he slowly opened the box and had to smile. "Perfect," he said and took his present out of the cardboard box.

Then he took the little gift from the bed and read the inscription on the card. 'For Harm' stood there and once more it was written by Mac. He carefully opened the card and read out loud the message. "Just to complete the picture. Merry Christmas, Harm. Love, Mac." Harm took a deep breath, opened the gift, and started to laugh. "Absolutely perfect."

_TBC… _


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm glad you enjoyed the last part and I really had a blast with your guesses about what Harm got from Mac and his godsons. Some great ideas you had… and now it's time for you to find out… so here's the seventh part. Hope you like… **

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 7 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

* * *

_

**6:39 PM**

Little AJ was the first one who lost interest in the book when the bedroom door opened and raised his head. With a wide grin he looked at his uncle before he quickly touched Mac's arm, trying to get her attention. "Auntie Mac look, Uncle Harm is back," AJ cried in excitement. Then he jumped up from the couch, ran to his uncle and gave him a bear hug.

Harm chuckled about the little boy's enthusiasm and took him into his arm. "So, what do you think? How do I look, buddy?"

"You look cool, Uncle Harm," Little AJ told him and then turned his head to look at his aunt. "Don't you think so, Auntie Mac?"

Harm followed his godson's gaze, looked at Mac and was greeted by her bright smile. She was still sitting on the couch with Jimmy in her lap. Mac was holding the book she was reading to the boys in her hands, but had stopped reading it as soon as she saw Harm coming out of the bedroom.

Mac grinned at the sight in front of her. Harm was wearing his Christmas gift from Little AJ and Jimmy, a soft flannel pajamas covered with candy canes and mistletoes. "Yes, AJ, I think he looks really cool," she answered and then looked into her partner's eyes. "It really suits you, Harm," she softly told him, trying to not laugh out loud. He looked so cute in these pajamas. Simply adorable.

"Yeah, I think so too," Harm replied with a smile and gave his older godson a hug. "Thanks for the early Christmas gift, AJ. I really love it."

"Do you like Auntie Mac's present too?" Little AJ asked in suspense before he continued. "Now you look perfect for the PJ party," he gladly said as his godfather set him down on his feet again.

Together they moved to the couch, where Harm kissed Jimmy's forehead. "Thanks, Jimmy. You and your big brother really have good taste." Then he turned to Mac and gave her a peck on the cheek. "And I love your gift too. Thank you, Mac. I always wanted to have one of these," he softly told her with a grin and pointed at the nightcap he was wearing. The flannel cap was just like the pajamas, covered with candy canes and mistletoes.

"I'm glad you like it. While we were buying our Christmas PJ's this morning, Little AJ saw this one and was sure it would be perfect for you. Then I saw the appending cap and knew I had to buy it too," she told him and slightly touched the fabric of his pajamas.

"Why don't we bathe the boys now so the rest of us can get ready for the party as well?" Harm submitted and took Jimmy out of Mac's embrace. "I already started to fill the tub and it should be done soon."

"Sounds like a plan," Mac answered and took Little AJ's hand in hers. Then they made their way to the bathroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Mac's kitchen **

**7:23 PM **

Harm was preparing some sandwiches for dinner, while Mac was still taking a shower. The boys were bathed and clad in their Christmas suits, waiting for their godparents in front of the fireplace.

Harm wanted to make something special for tonight and had created a little picnic place in front of Mac's fireplace. A rug was laid out and the light in the living room was coming from the blazing fire, the twinkling Christmas tree and a few candles he'd lit around the room. It was already pitch dark outside and just a few snowflakes were still falling down.

Harm took a quick glance to the living room, making sure the boys were okay. Little AJ sat at the window and watched the snowflakes dancing in the streetlight, while his little brother Jimmy was sitting on the rug, holding his 'best friend' Winnie the Pooh in his arms.

Harm was just filling their mugs with some fresh hot chocolate when he felt a light touch on his shoulder. "Do you need some help?" Mac softly asked from behind.

"No, all is done and ready for the picnic," Harm answered and slowly turned around to look at Mac. He gave her a bright smile. "You look beautiful, Mac. The pajamas look lovely on you."

Mac looked down at herself and blushed slightly. "Thank you," she quietly said before returning her gaze back to Harm. "Let's eat," she continued and took the plate with the sandwiches from the counter. "These look yummy, Harm."

"Thanks. I hope they taste good as well."

Soon they were all seated on the rug in front of the fireplace and enjoyed their sandwiches and hot chocolate. Jimmy was having some milk and scrambled eggs instead. They were having a blast with their picnic while making more plans for the rest of the weekend.

Little AJ most of all wanted to go sledding tomorrow and maybe even build a snowman.

"And what would you like to do when we're done with our picnic here?" Mac wanted to know and took another bite of her sandwich. "Any ideas?"

"Can we read 'The Night Before Christmas'?" Little AJ asked and looked at Mac before turning his gaze to Harm. "Oh, and maybe 'Frosty the Snowman'."

Harm and Mac laughed. "Why don't we start with 'The Night Before Christmas' and go from there?" Harm suggested and ruffled AJ's blonde hair.

"Okay," AJ answered and then looked at Mac with a glimmer in his eyes. "Can we do Smores too, Auntie Mac?"

Now it was Mac who ruffled his hair. "Let me check if I have the supplies for it, okay?" She replied and stood up to make her way to the kitchen.

Soon she came back into the living room. The smile on her face and the supplies in her hands showed Harm and the kids that they could go for it and make Smores in Mac's fireplace.

"Okay, I do have some gram-crackers, Hershey bars and marshmallows of course," Mac told them and laid the supplies down on the rug. "Now I just have to find something we can use as sticks."

"Do you have some wire hangers from the dry cleaners? That should do it," Harm suggested and Mac's smile gave him the answer.

"You bet I have," she voiced her answer and walked into the bedroom to get them.

A few minutes later they were preparing their Smores. Each of them took a gram-cracker and broke it in half, took half of a chocolate bar and placed it on top of the gram-cracker. Then they took two marshmallows and put them on their sticks. Harm had been right about the wire hangers. They just had to burn the paint off the tip and they could use them perfectly for making Smores. They roasted the marshmallows and then placed them on top of the chocolate before putting the other half of the gram cracker on top. Then they could pull the stick out. The marshmallow melts the chocolate and both would ooze out while they took their first bite. Together they had a lot of fun making and eating the Smores.

When they were done with the Smores and well-fed, Harm and Mac brought the dishes into the kitchen and filled the dishwasher. Then they refilled their mugs with some more cocoa and Jimmy's bottle with milk before walking back into the living room.

Harm gave Little AJ his mug before taking place on the rug again. He placed Jimmy in his lap and gave him his bottle.

Mac placed her mug on the coffee table and then walked to the entertainment center to turn off the CD player. Walking to the bookshelf, she looked through her library and finally found Clement C. Moore's masterwork 'The Night Before Christmas'. She smiled and joined Harm and the boys on the rug.

"If it's okay with you, I would like you to read the story for us," Mac told Harm softly and handed the book to him. Then she quietly added. "I love hearing your voice."

Harm smiled at her, nodded and took the book out of her grip. Mac took a place right next to him, shoulder to shoulder, and touched Jimmy's hand, which he'd outstretched to her. She kissed his fist before letting go of it again. Then she opened her arms so that Little AJ could lean on her.

Harm was holding the book so that Jimmy, Mac and Little AJ were able to see the pictures in it without any problem. "All ready?" Harm asked quietly.

"Yes," Mac and Little AJ whispered at the same time and Jimmy quickly followed with a nod of his head.

Harm nodded his head, cleared his throat and opened the book. Then he started to read slowly with a quiet and reserved voice, making several breaks so the boys could admire the pictures.

"Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads;

And Mama in her 'kerchief and I in my cap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap."

Harm stopped for a minute and looked at Mac and then at Little AJ. He'd changed his position a bit and his head was now lying in Mac's lap, but he was still able to look into the book. She was softly running her hand through his hair in a soothing manner. Harm turned his gaze back to Mac and looked deeply into her eyes. He was greeted by a soft smile, which Harm returned in all eagerness. Then he gently kissed her forehead before returning his attention to the book and continued to read the rest of the story.

It didn't take long for Jimmy to fall asleep in his uncle's arms, and it seemed like his big brother would follow him soon into dreamland. More and more he was yawning while listening anxiously to the story his uncle was reading. It'd been a long day for them. A day full of adventure, excitement, laughter and happiness.

"Happy Christmas to all. And to all a good-night," Harm ended the story, closed the book and put it on the coffee table.

"They are out like a light," Mac commented in a whisper and looked down at AJ and then at Jimmy, who was still held safely in his uncle's arms. "We should take them to bed. It has been a long day for them."

"Just like it has for us. Maybe we should call it a night too," Harm suggest and slowly stood up.

"If you're tired, Harm. But if not, then we maybe could work some more on your files. The more we get done today, the less we have to think about it tomorrow."

Harm smiled at her and nodded his head. "I would love that."

"So it's a deal."

_TBC…? _


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks again for all those who have reviewed :) I really appreciate it... and here's part 8 for you... hope you enjoy this one...**

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 8_

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

* * *

_

**9:10 PM**

Harm took one last look at the boys, who were both asleep in their beds by now. He clearly could hear their even breathing and sometimes even a sigh or a little snore. Then he switched off the ceiling light so that the room was only illumined by the dim light from a street lamp and the little nightlight near Jimmy's crib.

Slowly he closed the door and moved into the living room to join Mac on the couch. She was already seated cross-legged on it and worked on some more files. She hadn't bothered to turn on any lights, and it seemed like the lights coming from the fireplace, Christmas tree and candles around the room were enough for her to get done with the work.

Harm sat down on the couch and took a deep breath. Then he took off his nightcap to lay it on the coffee table.

"Tired?" Mac asked in worry and looked up from the folder she was holding in her hands. "I told you earlier that we could call it a night if you want. It really was a long day and maybe some sleep would be good right about now."

Harm shook his head and smiled at her. "Nah, it's not that. I'm not really tired actually," he told her and chuckled. "I'm afraid that I am too full of energy to get any sleep at all tonight."

Mac smiled, closed the folder and took another one out of the files box. "Don't worry, Harm. As soon as your head hits the pillow you'll be out like a light and you'll snore just like the two boys behind that door," she said and pointed at the door of her guestroom. Then she continued with a soft voice. "It really was a great day, wasn't it?"

Harm nodded his head and took one of Mac's hands in his to give her a light squeeze. "Yeah, I think we had a lot of fun," he gently told her before letting go of her hand again. "Thank you so much for coming up with this great idea."

"No, I have to thank you, Harm," Mac immediately countered. "It was your idea to go hunting for a tree with an axe. And you were right. We never should go with our children to a grocery store and buy a Christmas tree. It's not Christmasish at all," she told him with a chuckle. She really liked this word.

Then the smile quickly left her face and Harm knew that she caught her own Freudian slip just like he did. Earlier, in his apartment, he'd made one of his own as well and said 'our children' too. Back then he didn't know that she caught it, but now he was pretty sure that she'd heard him loud and clear.

"Hey," he softly said and took the folder out of Mac's hand and placed it on the coffee table before taking both of her hands into his to squeeze them.

"I'm sorry, Harm. I… I shouldn't have said that," she told him in a whisper.

"Why not? I've said it too, earlier in my apartment, and I know you heard me. You did, didn't you?"

Mac didn't respond vocally but nodded her head.

"Mac, this day has been magical and it's normal to feel the way we do. There's nothing wrong about that," Harm softly told her.

"No, there's not," Mac quietly answered and gave him a little smile. "It really was a beautiful day."

"And a very tiresome one, but beautiful nonetheless," Harm agreed and responded with a smile of his own before letting go of her hands.

"So you are tired," Mac concluded quickly and pointed her right forefinger at him, slightly touching his chest. "Liar, liar, pants on fire."

Harm chuckled. "Yeah, maybe a bit. These two boys have a lot of energy."

Mac couldn't hold back anymore and laughed, trying her best not to be too loud so she wouldn't wake the boys next door. "Harm, they are Bud's children. Of course they have a lot of energy."

Harm laughed too and nodded his head. "Good point, Counselor. Very good point."

"Yeah, and just wait till the twins are born. I'm sure we've seen nothing yet," Mac pointed out with a smirk.

"Maybe Harriet will have at least one girl this time."

"So?" Mac asked, curious about where he wanted to go with this statement.

Harm shrugged his shoulders. "Girls are…," he started to say but didn't seem to find the right word.

"Yes?" Mac waved her hand, showing her best friend that he may continue and that she was impatiently waiting for his answer.

"Calmer. They are calmer."

"Calmer?" Mac only repeated his word.

"Yeah, they are more… quiet."

"Quiet?"

"Why are you repeating my words?" Harm wanted to know and raised his eyebrow. It wasn't bugging him, but it somehow made him feel insecure.

"Bad habit," Mac immediately answered and then continued. "Don't worry about it. Now you were saying…?"

"I was saying that girls are…. They are girls, okay. They like to play with their dolls, doing their hair or having tea parties." Harm saw that Mac was only shaking her head. "No? You mean they're not?"

"Well, I'm sure there are many girls who like stuff like that, but I'm sorry to tell you this, Harm. Girls can be just like boys or are even worse," she told him as a matter of fact.

"They are?" Harm asked astonished. "Now that's hard to believe."

Mac looked flabbergasted at him, not believing what she was hearing. "Harm, I never liked to play with dolls, doing my hair or God forbid having tea parties."

"You didn't?"

"No, that's boring."

"Boring?"

"Yeah, boring. Harm, I have to let you know that I was a tomboy through and through. I liked to climb trees. The higher they were, the more fun it was to conquer them. Or to get dirty. That was a blast. The muckier I got the better I felt. I loved to jump into mud holes, they couldn't be deep enough for me," Mac told him with enthusiasm.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. Also, the only doll I ever had, I got from my Aunt Agnes. The first thing I did was to cut her hair. I thought she looked much better with a short haircut, rather than having this boring long, blonde hair. All in all I played about five minutes with the doll before she ended up in the closet. She was never seen again."

Mac waited for Harm to say something, but he only smiled at her. "What?" Mac asked.

"Thank you, Mac," was the only thing Harm said in response.

"Thanks for what?" She wanted to know, not understanding what she'd done to have him thanking her.

"For sharing this all with me," he softly told her, took one of her hands in his own and squeezed it. "It means a lot to me."

"You're…," Mac started to answer and then it suddenly dawned to her. "…welcome," she continued slowly before getting one of the cushions from the couch to smack him across the face. "You!"

Harm chuckled and barely could hold back his laughter. "What?" He asked, and finally had to laugh out loud, trying to do it as quiet as possible. He just couldn't hold it back anymore. "What did I do?" He asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Oh, you. Don't act like you have no clue what I'm talking about, Mr. Innocent," Mac said while jumping on Harm, trying to tickle him. His laughter was infecting and soon she had to laugh with him. "You really had me this time, didn't you?" she asked and finally found his ticklish spot right above his hips. By now she was more or less lying on top of him.

"Big time, Marine. Big time," he quickly answered, sounding slightly out of breath. However, it didn't take him long and he was able to fend Mac's tickle attack. In one quick motion he moved so that he was the one having the upper hand now.

Both stopped laughing and smiled at each other. Thankfully, there was no sound coming from the baby monitor, so that their playful banter hadn't woken the boys up.

Harm took a deep breath and held one of his hands to Mac, helping her sit up again. "I'm sorry that I played you out, Mac, but I'm really glad you shared all this with me," he softly told her and tucked one loose wisp of hair behind her ear.

It wasn't often that Mac opened up about her past, especially about her childhood, and he was glad that she'd shared this little something with him. He hadn't planned to play the silly-billy about the girl-topic, but it was such a fun thing to do that he couldn't stop himself. Neither was it his plan to get away from his proposition to ask Mac about the crib in the guestroom. But it wasn't the right time to ask her about it. At least not at the moment.

"I'll get you for this," Mac promised and slightly slapped his arm. "One day when you least expect it."

"Bring it on, Marine. I can't wait," Harm told her with a smirk and then stifled a yawn. "But, you know Mattie good enough to know that she never was a 'playing with dolls and having tea-parties'-girl either. It's not my fault that you believed me," he pointed out. "I have to admit though, your face while I said it was priceless."

Mac only stuck her tongue out at him. Then she looked at the folder he'd put on the coffee table earlier. "Do you still feel like working on some of these files?" she asked Harm, seeing that he was stifling yet another yawn. She was getting tired herself, but wanted to let Harm decide if they should continue to work or call it a night.

"Nah, I can't see straight anymore. I think we should call it a night. We've done enough for today."

"Okay, sounds good to me," Mac gently said and then pointed at the bedroom door. "Do you want to take the bed? This couch doesn't really give you much room and I would fit into it much better than you."

"No, it's not a problem, Mac. I have plenty of space here. Just give me a pillow, a blanket and I'm fine."

"You sure?" She asked and got up from the couch.

"Very," Harm confirmed and stood up as well. "Just give me five minutes to use your bathroom and I'm out of your way."

"You're not in my way, Harm," Mac tenderly told him and suddenly found her carpet very interesting.

Harm smiled at her and gave her a quick hug. "I'm glad to hear that," he gently told her. Then he kissed her forehead before making his way to the bathroom.

A short while later Harm came back into the living room, where Mac already had prepared his bed for the night. The flickering of the fireplace was by now the only light source in the room. Harm was still wearing the pants of his Christmas pajamas, but he took off the shirt in favor of one of his undershirts.

"Thanks, Mac," Harm said and made his way to the couch.

Mac turned around and came face to face with him and his smile. "You're welcome," she replied before rising up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Good night, Harm. Sweet dreams," she said and walked to the bedroom.

"Good night, Mac, and don't let the bed bugs bite you."

They exchanged a last smile before she entered the bedroom and closed the door.

_TBC… of course..._


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Thank you all for the wonderful feedback. I'm glad you enjoy this story and I hope you like this installment too..**

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 9 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

* * *

**Sunday** _

**December 12, 2004 **

**Mac's Apartment **

**Georgetown, DC **

**1:03 AM **

Harm woke up and was startled for a moment, not knowing where he was and what had woken him. It took him only a moment to remember that he was at Mac's, but the reason why he'd woken up was still unclear to him. 'I guess it was a bad dream,' he thought and closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep again.

That's when he heard it. A quiet voice. Someone was talking and the sound came out of Mac's bedroom. But that wasn't the only noise disturbing the silence in the dark apartment. Now he could hear it clearly. A sniff. Someone was obviously crying. "Mac," Harm muttered to himself and got worried. Slowly he got up from the couch to make his way to the bedroom door. It was slightly ajar and a dim light was shining through the crack.

Harm touched the door, but for a moment he was unsure about whether or not he should go ahead and find out what's wrong behind that door. However, another little sniff coming out of the room made up his mind. Slowly he pushed the door a bit, so that he was able to look inside.

He could see the bed and the sight in front of him made him smile. There, on the right side of the bed, was Mac. She was lying on her back and on top of her, with his head placed on her chest, was Jimmy. He sucked on his thumb while Mac was rubbing his back in a soothing manner.

Mac held a book in her other hand and quietly read the story for him. Harm immediately detected that it was Jimmy's favorite story 'Bedtime with Winnie the Pooh'. Harm knew it so well since he'd read it many times for his younger godson.

By now Harm could hear that Jimmy was the one crying. Then he let his eyes wander a little bit further and could see that his other godson was lying in the middle of the bed. He was snuggled up to Mac and obviously asleep.

Unaware to his mind, Harm's hand pushed the door even wider and his feet started to move further into the room. Suddenly the door squeaked and made his presence known.

Mac heard the squeak and looked up from the book just to see Harm standing at the doorway. He didn't say anything and just watched the scene in front of him. She tried to read his look, but for some reason it was unreadable for her.

"Hi," Mac whispered and watched him close the door before moving even further into the room.

"Hey," Harm quietly replied. "Is everything okay? I heard the sniffling and got worried."

Mac nodded her head. "Yeah, everything is okay. Jimmy had a bad dream and woke up. I heard his crying through the baby monitor and it woke up Little AJ as well." Then she looked down at the older boy. "Thankfully he is already asleep again but Jimmy is still fighting his tiredness though."

Harm again didn't say anything and simply looked like he was memorizing the scene in front of him. Mac saw his reaction and the longing in his eyes. Without thinking twice she tapped the space right next to her and Little AJ, asking him to join them without using any words.

Harm didn't need to be asked twice and quickly moved around the bed to get slowly into it, trying not to wake Little AJ up in the process.

As soon as he was seated Mac held out the book to him. "Here, want to read the rest? It shouldn't take much longer to get Jimmy back into dreamland."

"Sure," Harm softly answered and started to read the story from where she'd left off.

Just like Mac foresaw, it didn't take long for Jimmy to fall asleep again and even when he was already asleep, Harm didn't stop reading the story until the very end. "It worked like a charm," Harm quietly said and softly touched Jimmy's cheek, getting a little sigh in response.

"Yeah, at least there was no need for a lullaby this time," Mac told him and smiled. "I think we should bring them back to bed. It should be safe by now."

Harm nodded and together they brought the boys back to the guestroom.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I can't believe that Jimmy's crying didn't wake me up earlier," Harm commented in bewilderment as soon as they were back in the living room. "Not even you running through the living room woke me up."

Mac smiled and nodded her head. "I guess you were more tired than you thought."

"Yeah, I guess that's it," Harm replied and got down on the couch, trying to find a comfortable position to fall asleep again. "Let's get some more sleep. Night, Mac."

"Good night, Harm," Mac tenderly said but didn't walk back into the bedroom. She stood at the doorway of her bedroom and watched him trying to fall asleep again. She could see that he was troubled by not finding a comfortable position.

Harm beat the pillow, turned on his back and groaned. 'It wasn't that uncomfortable earlier. Not uncomfortable at all,' Harm wondered and looked up at the ceiling. That's when he saw the outstretched hand in front of him. He followed the arm and looked up into Mac's smiling eyes. "Let's go to bed, Harm," she tenderly told him.

"Are you sure? It's really not a problem for me to sleep on this couch."

Mac nodded her head and took Harm's hand into hers. "I'm very sure," she said and hand in hand they made their way into her bedroom. "But no funny business."

"Who? Me? No, I'm Prince Charming, Mac. You won't even know that I'm lying right next to you," Harm pointed out with a grin and then thought to himself. 'This is going to be a long night.'

'Yeah, right. Like that could happen. This is going to be a long night,' Mac thought to herself and then said out loud. "Just try not to snore too loudly. Oh, and be aware that, should you hog the cover, you'll be out of my bed faster than you can say 'oops'," she joked.

"Wow, you're one demanding lady in bed, huh?" Harm chuckled, glad and even a bit surprised that the situation between them wasn't awkward at all.

Mac smirked and raised her eyebrow. "You bet, Flyboy," she told him before closing the door behind her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Mac's bedroom **

**4:27 AM **

Someone was watching her. Mac could feel it and immediately woke up. She could hear Harm's quiet snoring right behind her and knew that he was still asleep.

Slowly she opened her eyes and came face to face with her intruder. "Hey, honey," she whispered and gently touched Little AJ's cheek, feeling beads of sweat and drops of tears on it. "Bad dream?"

Little AJ nodded his head and took a deep breath. "I'm scared," he quietly told her.

Mac nodded her head and moved a little backward, being careful so that she wouldn't disturb Harm in his sleep. Then she raised her blanket. "Do you want to sleep here, honey?"

Little AJ once more nodded his head and quickly crawled into the bed next to Mac. She covered his little body with her blanket and then drew him into her arms, making him feel safe.

"Auntie Mac?" He whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Was Uncle Harm scared too?"

"What do you mean, AJ?" Mac curiously asked.

"He's sleeping in your bed too. Does that mean he was scared just like me?" Little AJ asked full of innocent.

Mac had to smile and for a moment she didn't know how to answer the question. Little AJ always tried to make the grown-ups around him believe that he already was a big boy, and that there's nothing that scared him. The thought that his Uncle Harm was perhaps scared after having a bad dream as well, made him feel better. If it was okay for his hero to be scared, then it was okay for Little AJ to be scared.

"Yes, honey. Your Uncle Harm was scared too. But now everything is okay again and he's asleep."

Little AJ giggled and tried everything to be quiet. "He's snoring."

Mac chuckled. 'Yeah. Well, at least he doesn't hog the cover,' she thought before giving her godson an answer. "Yeah, he does, doesn't he. Does it bother you?"

"No, daddy snores too. Only much louder," AJ told her as a matter of fact and yawned. "Mommy always says he sounds like he's sawing off an entire forest."

"Well, we're happy then that Uncle Harm doesn't know how to snore that loud. Do you think you can go back to sleep now?"

"Yes, Auntie Mac. Good night. Love you," he said and already sounded more asleep than awake.

Mac kissed his forehead. "Good night, honey. I love you too," she said and closed her eyes.

Little AJ's even breathing, Harm's quiet snoring and the blowing sound of a wind outside were the last thing she noticed before joining her boys in dreamland.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN – I'm sorry for the little delay, but my computer doesn't like me today… :(**

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 10_

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

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_

**7:56 AM**

Harm groaned, not liking the wake-up call he got today. "Turn the radio off, baby," he said fretfully, still more asleep than awake and tried to get the warmth he was holding in his arms even closer to him. "It's Sunday and we can sleep in."

The only answer he got was a quiet murmur and Harm didn't understand one word. "What?"

Mac sighed, not wanting to wake up. This was such a nice dream she had, and she didn't want to let it go. "I said, I don't have a radio in my bedroom," she whispered with a sleepy voice and yawned.

"Then what's this squealing noise?" Harm annoyingly asked and started to kiss her neck. 'Hmmm, she tastes good,' he thought and then took a deep breath. 'And she smells even better.'

'This feels nice,' Mac thought. 'And it feels so real….' Suddenly it dawned on her. 'Wait, this isn't a dream. This is real,' she continued to let her mind wander and finally woke up with a bright smile on her face.

She could feel the warmth right next to her; his warmth. Harm was spooned against her from behind and one of his arms was wrapped around her middle, slightly running circles on her belly underneath her pajamas top, which caused goose bumps to form on her skin. Her head was pillowed on his other outstretched arm. Harm's legs were tangled with hers and she could feel his hot breath against her neck while he continued to kiss it. She had no idea how or even when they ended up in this position, but she really liked it. 'I better wake him up before this gets out of hand though,' she thought and then said out loud. "Harm, wake up."

Mac slowly opened one eye and could see that the spot where AJ had slept earlier was now vacant. That's when she finally figured out where this noise came from.

"I'm awake," Harm muttered against her neck and his breath tickled her skin. "And I wish we could shut off the squealing so we can go back to sleep."

Mac chuckled. "For some reason I doubt you're totally awake, and don't let your godson hear that you're calling his singing 'squealing', Harm."

"Huh?"

"The noise you're hearing is coming from the baby monitor. AJ's singing 'The Bare Necessities' to his brother. Jimmy loves this song."

Harm stopped kissing her neck, opened his eyes and looked up to see the baby monitor standing on Mac's nightstand. He listened more thoroughly to the sound and indeed discovered Little AJ's voice. Harm let his head fall back to the pillow and groaned. "How can a child be so cheerful so early in the morning is beyond me."

"Has to be his genes," Mac quietly answered and slowly moved onto her other side so that she came face to face with Harm.

Now she was able to look into Harm's eyes and could see the bright shine in them. It was clear to her that he knew exactly what he'd done earlier. Maybe he didn't mean to call her 'baby', but the kisses were given intentionally. That she was sure about. "Hi."

"Hi." Harm smiled and started to caress her cheek with his fingertips. "Good morning, Beautiful. This is really nice," he softly told Mac, first pointing at her and then at himself.

Mac nodded her head. Waking up in his arms was indeed a nice thing, and something she'd dreamed about for a long, long time. "Yes, it is. Very nice."

"Please don't expect me to apologize for waking up with you in my arms, or for kissing you," Harm quietly begged and tucked one loose wisp of hair behind her ear.

"I won't," Mac told him in a whisper and with a shy smile on her face.

Harm eagerly returned her smile with one of his own. "Good. And also know that I was awake enough to know who I was holding in my arms and who I was referring to as 'baby'."

Slowly their heads started to move forward, longingly waiting the moment their lips would finally meet.

"Ooof," Harm and Mac groaned out at the same time when a little whirlwind bounced without any warning onto the bed and right on top of them. They took a deep breath and let their foreheads touch. They'd been so near, but obviously it wasn't the right time. With a sigh they both let their look wander to Little AJ, who was sitting with a wide grin on their hips.

"Good morning!" Little AJ yelled with a cheerful voice and giggled. "It's time to get up, I'm hungry," he announced as a matter of fact and interlocked his arms in front of him. "Can we have dinosaur pancakes, Uncle Harm?"

Harm groaned again and glanced at Mac, who still looked a little shocked. "Do you think that if we ignore him long enough he'll go away again?" He hopefully asked her in a whisper.

Mac looked at him with a 'get real'-look. "Sure, Harm. Sure," she answered in sarcasm.

"Damn," he quietly cursed to himself and threw his head back into the pillow. Then he looked at his godson. "Sure, AJ. Dinosaur pancakes sound like a great idea. That is, if your aunt has the supplies in her kitchen."

Two pair of eyes were now looking at Mac. "Sure. Shouldn't be a problem," she confidently answered.

"Cool!" Little AJ yelled and jumped out of the bed. "Come on then. We have to hurry. The quicker we're done, the faster we can go sledding." Then he took Mac's hand into his and started to pull her out of the bed. Of course he wasn't strong enough to do that, but Mac more or less willingly helped him and got out of the bed. Less willingly was Harm though, who had to let her go from his arms.

"Why don't you go ahead, AJ? We'll be right there," she told her godson and stretched her weary muscles.

"Okay!" Little AJ called out and ran out of the bedroom. It only took him a few seconds before he once again started to sing cheerfully, this time performing his favourite song 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'.

Mac turned around to look at Harm and saw that he'd thrown the blanket over his head. She shook her head and chuckled. Mac took one corner of the blanket into her hand and pulled it away from him. "Time to get up, Harm. You've heard the little man. He wants your famous dinosaur pancakes."

Before Mac had any chance to react, Harm was grasping for her arm and pulled her on top of him. "I won't get out of this bed before I get my 'good morning'-kiss," he said with a pout.

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and smirked. "Now who's so demanding in bed, huh?"

"You haven't seen anything yet, Marine."

"Oh, really?"

"Really! And now kiss me for Pete's sake," Harm commanded with a grin on his face.

Mac licked her lips and moved her face a bit closer to his. "My pleasure," she whispered and gave him what was meant as a quick and teasing peck on his lips.

However, after their lips parted Mac looked into Harm's eyes, only to be greeted by a gaze full of love and desire, and she was sure that the same look mirrored in her own eyes. That was all it took for Harm and Mac to come together again in a slow, long and loving kiss. Harm sighed in relief and both thought 'About damn time'.

"Auntie Mac! Uncle Harm! When are you coming?" Little AJ called from the kitchen. "I'm waiting."

Harm groaned as they broke their kiss and Mac slowly moved away from him.

"Come on, old man. Time to feed the youngsters."

Harm took her outstretched hand and got up from the bed as well. Then he drew her back for another short kiss. "We are so doomed," he told her and got a giggle in response.

"Go get freshen up while I get Jimmy. We'll meet in the kitchen."

"Okay," Harm said and made his way to the bathroom before turning his gaze back to Mac. "And Mac?"

Mac stopped at the doorway and looked back at Harm. "Yeah?"

"We need to talk," he softly told her.

Mac smiled and nodded her head. "We will, Harm. Believe me, we will," she said and walked out of the bedroom.

'Yes, we will,' Harm thought and stepped into the bathroom.

_TBC…_


	11. Chapter 11

**AN – Okay, for this story let's pretend that there's a parking lot in the backyard of Mac's apartment building and that she can overlook it while glancing out of her windows. We always got to see the front of the building, but that doesn't mean Mac's apartment has to be out to the front, right? Thought so… ;-) **

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 11 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

* * *

**8:23 AM** _

Harm was in the kitchen preparing the dinosaur pancakes, while Little AJ and Jimmy kept him company. They were both seated on the little kitchen table, still wearing their nightclothes and anxiously awaited their breakfast. Mac hadn't joined them yet, since she was still in the bathroom to freshen up and getting dressed.

"Okay, guys. Here's your breakfast," Harm said and served each of them one pancake and got himself one too. Then he filled one of Mac's mugs with coffee and took a place right next to Jimmy, so that he could help him with his breakfast.

"Hmmm, this is yummy, Uncle Harm," Little AJ told him and took another bite of his with maple syrup covered pancake.

"Morning, boys," Mac greeted from the doorway and determined made her way to the coffee machine to get herself a mug of coffee. She took a long gulp and sighed in relief.

"Want some pancakes, Mac?" Harm asked and held his fork with a piece of pancake to her. "Here, taste it."

Mac raised her eyebrow and grinned. "Do you want me to open my hangar again, Harm?"

Harm laughed, remembering their little feeding party yesterday. "Yes, please. I could even do the airplane noises again," he offered and chuckled.

"Nah, that won't be necessary." Mac obeyed and ate the piece of pancake Harm offered her. "Hmmm, very good." Then she got closer to him and whispered into his ear. "I think you're a keeper, Harm. You for sure know how to make pancakes."

Harm looked at her with a raised eyebrow and smirked. "That's it? That's the way to your heart, MacKenzie? Pancakes?" He asked astonished. "You should have told me that years ago."

"Nope, there are still two or three more things you need to know how to do, but I think you can handle it," Mac joked but then got serious again.

Harm immediately saw the change in Mac and knew that something was wrong. "What?"

Mac looked at Little AJ and could see that he was still engaged with his breakfast and didn't care about his surroundings. Then she turned her gaze back to her partner. "Do you have a minute? I would like to show you something."

"Sure, lead the way," he answered and followed Mac into the living room. "What's wrong, Mac?" He asked worriedly once more as soon as they were out of the boys' earshot.

Mac just nodded at the muted TV before pointing to the window.

"Uh oh," Harm commented after watching the news for a moment. Then he followed Mac and joined her at the window. "Oh my." Harm let his gaze wander as if he was searching for something and shook his head. "Ummm, Mac?"

"Yeah?"

"Ummm, where's my car?" Harm once more overlooked the backyard of Mac's apartment building, but he couldn't find his car.

"I think it's there," Mac answered him and pointed to a wall on the left side. "At least the antenna looks familiar to me."

"I don't see anything, Mac. Wait, let me re-phrase that. I can see a lot of snow out there, but not my car."

"Can you see the snowdrift over there?" Mac asked and got a nod as response. "There's an antenna sticking out of it and if I'm not mistaken, that's where you parked the car yesterday."

"In other words… my car is under this nice blanket of snow?"

"Yup, that would be my guess."

"That's… lovely. Really… impressive."

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?" Mac replied and turned around to take another look at the news of ZNN. "I'm not sure what's more impressive though. Seeing your car totally covered with a blanket of snow or the fact that a snowstorm raged last night and we all totally slept through it."

"I take it that you've watched the news for a while before you came into the kitchen. How're the prognoses? We're stuck, aren't we?"

"Yes. They gave out the advice not to leave the house if it isn't necessary. The weather report says that the worst is behind us and that everything should be calmed down by tomorrow."

"And that means going sledding is no longer an option," Harm concluded and took a deep breath.

"Yeah, that's a given."

Harm saw the sadness in Mac's eyes and took her face into his hands to give her a short but sweet kiss. "Come on; let's go back to the boys. I think we need to have a talk with Little AJ."

Mac just nodded her head and followed Harm back into the kitchen. She still felt taken aback about what happened between them in these past twenty-four hours. It was such an amazing feeling she felt deep in her heart and she couldn't stop the nearly goofy looking grin that took place on her face.

However, as soon as she entered the kitchen and saw the grinning AJ in front of her, she felt the pang of sadness coming back again. Mac knew how much AJ wanted to go sledding and that he would be disappointed about the change of their plan.

Harm took one of her hands into his and tenderly squeezed it. He knew what she was feeling right now, since he felt the same. Something needed to be done and he had to come up with it.

"I'm stuffed," Little AJ said as his godparents entered the kitchen. "Can we go now?" He asked with a glimmer in his eyes and Harm and Mac knew what he meant.

Mac sat down on the stool right next to him and ruffled his hair. "I'm sorry, AJ, but we can't go sledding today."

"Why not?" The glimmer in his eyes was gone and the disappointment on his face was clearly visible now. "You said that if there's enough snow we would go sledding and there is enough snow. I checked it this morning. Come look." Little AJ jumped from the stool and wanted to run into the living room but Mac gently held him back.

"AJ, there was a snowstorm last night, and it simply isn't safe for us at the moment to go out of this building," Harm tried to explain but saw that by now the disappointment on his godson's face was mixed with sadness and even a little bit of anger.

"That's not fair," Little AJ cried and offended ran out of the kitchen, in response knocking off his plate from the kitchen table.

Mac sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "That went well," she said while the loud bang of Mac's bedroom door was heard in the otherwise quiet apartment.

Jimmy started to cry as soon as his brother ran out of the kitchen and the plate hit the kitchen floor. The banging of Mac's bedroom door made him cry even more.

Harm took his younger godson out of the highchair and cradled him in his arms, kissing his forehead. "Sssshh, it's okay, Jimmy." Then he looked at Mac and gave her an encouraging smile. "Tell you what. Why don't you go and try to talk with him, while Jimmy and I clean up this mess and try to come up with a plan B."

"Yeah, I better go and try to talk to him," Mac answered and suddenly realized what he'd said a few seconds ago. "A plan B?"

Harm nodded his head. "Yeah, there's always a plan B. You just have to try and find it," Harm explained and sat the now calmed Jimmy back into his highchair.

Mac, being now deep in her thoughts, only nodded her head before leaving the kitchen while Harm got the broken dish up from the floor. He was just dumping the broken plate into the trashcan when he saw that Mac remained standing at the doorway, having an intense look on her face.

"Everything okay?" he asked worried.

Mac didn't answer him, nor had she heard him. Too important was the thought she had on her mind. Was it possible?

"Always?" She only asked in a whisper so that Harm nearly hadn't heard her.

"Yes, Sarah. Always," Harm immediately answered her without thinking twice, knowing exactly what she was asking about. They were still talking about children, just not about Little AJ and Jimmy anymore.

They smiled at each other before Mac nodded her head and walked away to have a talk with AJ.

Harm took a deep breath, looked at Jimmy and shook his head. "It's not even much later than nine o'clock and I already feel like I've lived an entire workday," he told him with a chuckle.

Jimmy responded with a giggle and started to babble. Harm laughed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right, sport. Family life is a lot of fun, isn't it? But now we better come up with a good plan B, or else this day may end in a disaster."

_TBC… _


	12. Chapter 12

**AN – I wish you all a Happy St. Nicholas' Day! I hope you enjoyed all the chocolate and nuts you found in your boots... I know, I did :o) Anyway, here's the next part of ASW. Hope you like… **

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 12 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information_

_

* * *

_**9:08 AM**

Mac took a deep breath and slowly opened the door to her bedroom. At first she couldn't see Little AJ anywhere and only after she entered the room was she able to see him cowered behind her bed, on the left side right in front of the nightstand. His knees were pulled to his chest and Mac couldn't see his face, since he'd laid it on his knees and crossed arms.

After closing the door behind her, Mac moved deeper into her bedroom and walked around the bed. Every now and then she could hear his sniffs and hiccups. With a sigh she took place on her rattan armchair and looked at Little AJ, who hadn't looked up so far.

Mac watched him but didn't say anything. She wanted to give him the time he needed and hoped that it wouldn't take long for him to open up and talk with her.

Little AJ suddenly looked up and into her eyes but still didn't say a word. His face was tear-stained and slightly red while the disappointment was still clearly visible in his eyes.

"You know, if you keep your lips like that for more than three minutes, they will stay that way," Mac softly told him, talking about his lower lip, which was stuck out in a pout. She remembered that her uncle Matt had told her that when she was a little girl and had pouted that way.

AJ immediately reacted as he'd heard his aunt's words, pulled his lower lip into his mouth and bit on it.

Mac raised her eyebrow in wonder when she saw what her godson was doing. "Why are you doing that?"

Little AJ sighed and wiped off the tears on his cheeks. "Because I think I was keeping my lips that way for more than three minutes," he whispered with a teary voice. "I don't want them to stay like that." As soon as he'd finished his explanation, he was biting on his lower lip again.

She nodded her head and gave him a little smile. "I'm sure it wasn't more than three minutes, AJ. Your lips are looking fine."

"Are you sure?" Little AJ quietly asked.

Mac once more nodded her head and confirmed her statement. "I'm absolutely positive."

AJ slowly got up on his feet, went to the armchair and sat down on Mac's lap. Then he threw his little arms around her neck and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Auntie Mac," he whispered into her ear and Mac could hear that he was on the verge of starting to cry again. "I didn't mean to do it."

"What are you sorry for, AJ? What didn't you mean to do?"

"I broke the plate and ran away," he told her, still whispering.

"Oh, honey. I know you didn't mean it," Mac answered him and pulled him even closer to her. "It was only a plate and nothing to worry about. Okay?"

Little AJ sighed in relief and Mac could feel that his little body relaxed again. "'kay. I love you, Auntie Mac."

Mac kissed his wet cheek. "I love you too, honey."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Mac's living room **

**Same time **

The dishes were put into the dishwasher and Harm already had changed Jimmy, who was now sitting on his blanket, playing with his favorite toys. The CD player was playing some jazz music in the background while Harm was cleaning the living room.

Doing household chores and listening to soft music always helped him to come up with a good idea for court and he hoped that it would help him to come up with a good plan B for today. He believed in what he'd told Mac earlier and knew that he would come up with one.

"Come on, Harm, there has to be something," he murmured to himself and took the bowl with candies from the coffee table to place it on Mac's dining table. "Think, man. What did you like to do as a kid while you were at your grandma's around Christmas time? Just think Christmasish."

Harm sighed and walked to the window, looking out at the Washington version of Winter Wonderland. He thought about the many times he'd spent as a kid at his grandma's farm in Belleville. They were often snowed in and could only spend their days indoors and barely leave the house. However, it was never boring back then, since his grandmother always knew how to entertain her lively grandchild.

Harm turned away from the window and walked to the dining table to get one red gumdrop out of Mac's candy bowl. He took a bite and had to smile. 'I still remember the first time she'd taught me how to make chocolate cookies or when we...,' he started to think and suddenly had to stop when it finally dawned on him. "That's it," he said out loud with a smile and nearly ran into Mac's kitchen. "Please tell me it's possible."

Harm opened a few of Mac's cabinets in hope of finding everything he needed for his plan. However, soon he had to give up in frustration. Most of the supplies they would need simply weren't available in Mac's kitchen.

"What now?" Harm asked the room and looked back into the living room, watching his little godson playing on his blanket. "No way are we being Scrooge the entire day. Right, Jimmy?"

Jimmy just babbled cheerfully and continued to play with his toys.

'Scrooge?' Harm thought and had to smile. "Bingo," he suddenly said out loud and walked into the living room to get Jimmy into his arms. "Come on, sport. It's time for a visit."

Together they made their way out of Mac's apartment, ready to accomplish the mission called 'Plan B'.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Meanwhile in Mac's bedroom **

"So we can't go sledding?" Little AJ asked and raised his face from her shoulder so that he could look into her eyes.

"No, honey. We can't go sledding today."

"Why not?" He wanted to know; still not understanding why they couldn't go sledding even though it was snowy outside.

Mac slowly got up from the armchair, still holding Little AJ firmly in her arms. "Ooof, you're heavy, AJ."

"I'm five, Auntie Mac. I'm a big boy and I have to be heavy," Little AJ proudly answered her and giggled.

As soon as she stood on her feet, he circled his little legs around her waist, clinging tightly to her. "Let me show you why we can't go today, okay?"

"'kay," AJ answered and together they made their way into the living room.

The first thing Mac noticed was that neither Harm nor Jimmy were no where to be seen or heard. The only sound in the room was coming from her CD player. 'I guess they are in the guestroom,' Mac thought and walked straight to one of the living room windows.

"Can you see your uncle Harm's car out there?" Mac asked her elder godson and watched him while his prying eyes were searching for Harm's SUV.

Little AJ shook his head. "No. Where is it?"

Mac pointed at the wall on the left side of the parking lot. "It's over there. Can you see the snowdrift right in front of this wall? Right under this blanket of snow you can find your uncle's car."

"Wow, it's snowed in," Little AJ enthusiastically replied with wide-open eyes.

"Yes it is, AJ. The snowstorm last night created quite a few of these snowdrifts and it isn't really safe for us at the moment to go out, just to have some fun with our sleds," Mac tenderly tried to explain the situation.

"Oh." Little AJ thought about everything his aunt had just told him. "Does that mean we're stuck and can't leave the house?"

Mac gave him a little smile. "No, if it would be necessary, we're able to get out of the house. But as long as no one of us is seriously sick or hurt, we shouldn't leave the house at the moment."

"For how long? Will we have to stay for days?" Little AJ curiously asked and Mac was glad about his interest, knowing that he started to understand the reasons.

"I'm not sure yet, sweetie, but I think by tonight we'll know more."

"Okay." Then a bright smile took place on Little AJ's face, just like the one he had on his face this morning before Harm and Mac had to tell him about not being able to go sledding. "Maybe Uncle Harm, Jimmy and I have to stay more days here. That would be sooo cool," he said delighted.

Mac couldn't hold back her laughter about her godson's enthusiasm and gave him a quick hug before letting him down on his feet again. "You would like that, huh?"

Little AJ strongly nodded his head and grinned. "Mmm-hmmm."

"What?" Mac asked, knowing that something else was on his mind.

"What about Mommy and Daddy? Do you think they can come home tomorrow?" Little AJ asked while they sat down on the couch.

Mac wasn't sure how to answer his question. "I'll tell you something. Why don't you try to call them later today? I bet they would like to get a call from you."

"Can I?"

Mac smiled and nodded her head. "Of course you can." She ruffled his hair and was taken aback when her apartment door suddenly opened and Jimmy slowly walked into the room. He was followed by his uncle, who had his hands full of bags and boxes. "Where are you two coming from?" Mac asked in surprise.

Harm gave her his best flyboy grin and placed the bags and boxes onto her coffee table. "Oh, Jimmy and I just visited the Ebenezer supermarket and got everything for our plan B," he told her enthralled.

Mac just raised her eyebrow and let her gaze wander to the bags and boxes before returning it to her partner's shining eyes. "Explain yourself, Mr. Rabb," she said and could hardly await his explanation.

Harm immediately gave her a salute. "Aye, aye, Ma'am," he said and hoped that Mac, and even more important Little AJ, would like the plan B he'd come up with.

_TBC… _


	13. Chapter 13

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 13 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information _

_

* * *

_**9:41 AM**

Mac still looked agog at Harm, eagerly awaiting his explanation about what he'd planned. "Come on, Harm. Don't keep us waiting here. What is this 'supermarket'-talk about?"

"The Ebenezer supermarket," Harm corrected Mac's statement with a smirk and took a seat in one of her armchairs, placing his younger godson on his lap. "Jimmy and I visited the Ebenezer supermarket. Oh, and may I add what a very nice lady you have as a neighbor, Ms. MacKenzie. She reminds me a lot of my grandmother. Mrs. Ebenezer says hi by the way."

Mac frowned and then raised her eyebrow. "You two were visiting Mrs. Ebenezer? Why?" She incredulously asked, not believing her ears were working right at the moment. "Please, Harm. Tell us about your plan B." Now more than before Mac was impatient to hear about her partner's idea. "What are you up to?"

"If you insist," Harm promptly said and thought about what happened just a few minutes earlier.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_**Flashback **_

**A few minutes earlier **

**Mrs. Ebenezer's Apartment **

Harm lightly knocked on the door and hoped he wouldn't disturb Mac's neighbor. Jimmy stood right next to him, watching his godfather with hawk-eyes.

After a lot of thinking he'd finally come up with a plan B to do another Rabb family tradition with his favorite boys and girl. However, soon Harm had to give up this idea since Mac's kitchen was simply missing most of the supplies they would have needed.

Thankfully, he found a package of chocolate chips in one of her cabinets while rummaging through Mac's kitchen and immediately thought about baking his grandma's favorite chocolate chip cookies with Mac and his godsons. Only two ingredients were missing and Harm now hoped to get some help from Mac's neighbor.

"Yes?" An elderly woman asked through the partly opened door.

"Mrs. Ebenezer?" Harm asked and got a little nod as response. "My name is Harmon Rabb. I'm a friend of your neighbor Sarah MacKenzie."

Mrs. Ebenezer immediately showed him a bright smile and opened the door of her apartment wider. "Oh, you're Sarah's commander."

At first Harm frowned while hearing what Mrs. Ebenezer was calling him, but then he returned her smile and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

"What can I do for you, Commander? Sarah and Little AJ are okay, aren't they?" The elderly woman asked with worry clearly audible in her voice. She looked down at Jimmy, who shyly hid his face behind Harm's leg.

"Please call me Harm and yes, Ma'am, Sarah and AJ are okay. But obviously we're stranded in the apartment today and I thought about baking some chocolate chip cookies, but…," Harm started to explain.

"But Sarah's kitchen doesn't have the ingredients for the cookies," Mrs. Ebenezer concluded Harm's sentence and chuckled. "Am I right, Harm?"

Harm laughed and shook his head in wonder. "You really do know my partner, don't you?"

Mrs. Ebenezer just nodded her head and laughed as well. "I once asked her if she had some vanilla extract I could borrow and Sarah told me that she had none and that baking wasn't really her thing."

Now it was Harm nodding his head. "It obviously is still not her thing, because the vanilla extract is still missing. And so is baking soda."

"Why don't you and your little boy here come in, Harm? I'm sure I can help you out," Mrs. Ebenezer said, letting him and Jimmy enter her apartment.

"That would be great, Ma'am. At first I thought about making a gingerbread house, but to find any ingredients for this project in Mac's kitchen was literally a dead end. I think we could've made the icing and the decoration, but that's about it," Harm told her while he and Jimmy followed the elderly woman into her kitchen.

"So baking chocolate chip cookies wasn't the first choice?" Mrs. Ebenezer asked and took the vanilla extract and some baking soda out of one cabinet.

Harm took the items out of her hands. "Thanks, and no, baking the cookies wasn't my first choice. I wanted to do one of the Rabb traditions and make a gingerbread house with Mac and the boys. I've done quite a few with my grandmother while I was a little boy, but I guess that's something we'll have to do another time."

"Maybe not," Mrs. Ebenezer only replied.

"Excuse me?"

"Maybe not, Harm. I think I can help you out with your problem."

"How so?"

Mrs. Ebenezer smiled at him and pointed with her forefinger behind her back. "The tradition you had with your grandmother as a child is the same tradition my grandson and I have. Timmy, my daughter and son-in-law wanted to visit me this weekend but sadly, my grandson got the flu and they couldn't come," she started to explain and then turned around to show Harm all the items she had for the gingerbread house. "I already baked the wall, roof and chimney pieces. I would like you to take them and the other stuff I bought for the icing and the decoration."

Harm was perplexed. "Are you sure, Ma'am?"

"Very. If you don't take it I would throw all this into the trashcan anyway."

"I don't know what to say," Harm quietly answered, still being perplexed about the offer and the positive outcome of his little visit.

"Just say thank you, Harm. I'm just glad that I can help and I know you'll have a great time."

Harm quickly gave her a peck on her cheek and then one of his best flyboy grins. "Thank you, Mrs. Ebenezer," he said and then came up with an idea. "I'm sorry about your grandson though. Why don't you just come with Jimmy and me? You could spend the day with the boys, Mac and I. You could help us build the gingerbread house. I'm sure the kids and Sarah would love to have you around."

Mrs. Ebenezer smiled and shook her head. "Thank you, Harm, but this is something you should enjoy with the boys and Sarah," she disclaimed. Then she got an impish grin on her face and winked. "Maybe you and Sarah could practice for the future."

To say that this statement made Harm speechless and feeling dumbfounded was an understatement. First she was calling him 'Sarah's commander' and now this one. 'What's going on here?' Harm thought to himself. "What exactly has Mac told you about me, Mrs. Ebenezer?"

"Oh, not much. It was more the things she hasn't said. You know, the words you can read in between."

Harm chuckled. "You sound like a lawyer."

"No, Commander. Just like an old woman with a lot of experience and a very good knowledge of human nature," she explained and then added with a smile. "And now you better go before Sarah calls out the cavalry."

Harm once more kissed her cheek and gave her a bear hug. Then he took the items from the kitchen counter before following Mrs. Ebenezer and Jimmy to the apartment door. "Thanks for everything, Mrs. Ebenezer."

"My pleasure. Please tell Sarah I said hi."

"Will do," Harm promised. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Harm," Mrs. Ebenezer said. Then she looked down at Jimmy and waved. "Bye, bye, Jimmy."

Jimmy shyly waved back before following his godfather back to Mac's apartment.

_**End of Flashback **_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Present **

**Mac's Apartment **

"Harm?" Mac called and once more tried to get his attention.

"Huh?"

Mac chuckled and shook her head. "You spaced out on us, Commander. You wanted to tell us about why you were at Mrs. Ebenezer's. What's in these boxes and bags?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. Okay, to make a long story short," Harm started to say and got up from the armchair to show Mac what he had in all the bags and boxes. "I thought we could do our very own gingerbread house, but your kitchen, Ms. MacKenzie, doesn't have what's needed for a project like that."

Mac only shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not Martha Stewart, Harm."

"Yeah, Mrs. Ebenezer and I came to the exact same conclusion," Harm countered. He got an 'excuse me'-look from her in response and immediately continued with his story. "Anyway. I found a box of chocolate chips in your cabinet and thought we at least could bake my grandmother's famous chocolate chip cookies. However, since you're not Martha Stewart, two important ingredients were still missing."

"Only two? Wow, Martha Stewart better look out then," Mac joked and gave him a sweet smile.

Harm let out a snore. "Yeah, right."

"So I gather you went to Mrs. Ebenezer to get those two missing things?"

"Yes, Sherlock, that's the reason why Jimmy and I visited her. And guess what, she had those missing ingredients in her kitchen."

"Which means we're able to bake chocolate chip cookies today," Mac concluded and high-fived with AJ, who was still sitting right next to her. "I like this idea, Harm."

"Me too," Little AJ immediately agreed with his godmother and giggled, the disappointment from earlier was already gone and forgotten.

"Oh, wait, you two. You haven't heard the best part yet," Harm said and took out a box with the wall, roof and chimney pieces for the gingerbread house to show them. "Mrs. Ebenezer made these so she could build a gingerbread house with her grandson."

"And why do you have them now?"

"Timmy got the flu and couldn't come with his parents. That's why she gave me all this stuff," Harm explained and pointed at the boxes and bags on Mac's coffee table. "Now the only question is if you feel like working on a gingerbread house?" He wanted to know and first looked at Little AJ before turning his gaze to Mac.

Little AJ and Mac looked at each other, started to smile and exchange a quick nod. Then they turned their gaze back to Harm. "I'm in," they said in unison and giggled.

Harm laughed and sighed in relief. "Great, then we better get started. Maybe we'll even be able to bake the cookies as well."

"Yes!" Little AJ yelled and jumped from the couch.

"Ye, ye, ye," Jimmy happily copied his big brother's words and started to bounce up and down right next to Harm.

Harm took him into his arms and gave him a hug. Then he looked at his elderly godson and saw that he was still wearing his pajamas. "Why don't you get changed and then we can start," he told AJ.

"Okay," Little AJ answered and quickly ran into the guestroom.

Mac slowly stood up from the couch and stepped nearer to Harm. "I like your plan B, Harm. There really is always a plan B, isn't there?" She quietly asked and touched Jimmy's soft cheek. Then she looked deeply into Harm's eyes and could see the bright glimmer in them.

"Yes, I promise. There's always a plan B. You just have to look and find it," Harm softly repeated his words from earlier this morning, never breaking their gaze.

"Don't make a promise you can't keep," Mac quietly said and quickly kissed his cheek. Then she turned around, got the bags and boxes from the coffee table before making her way to the kitchen.

Harm's eyes followed her and as soon as she disappeared into the kitchen, he quietly replied. "I haven't yet, Sarah. I haven't yet."

_TBC…_


	14. Chapter 14

**AN – I want to thank you all for the reviews and I'm sorry for not posting yesterday, but real life has crossed my way and I had no chance to post :-) I hope it won't happen again, butthere may be delays in my postings. It can be only a few hours but it can be more than that. All I can say is that I promise to do my best to post each day, and I like to keep my promises :-) Anyway, here's part 14... enjoy (I hope). Take care - Michi **

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 14 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information _

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_**10:03 AM**

Little AJ and Mac, with Jimmy safely placed on her lap, were sitting at the dinning room table, anxiously awaiting Harm to come back from the kitchen. The walls, roof, and chimney pieces for the gingerbread house laid on the table, just like the goodies for the decoration.

Mac had a hard time keeping Jimmy's little fingers from pilfering the gumdrops out of the candy bowl. Each time she caught his quick fingers he giggled and babbled happily, enjoying the little game between them. In the meantime, Little AJ's eyes were glued to the kitchen entrance, impatiently waiting for his uncle to come out of that room.

The sound of Harm's happy whistles and the rumbling noises of an electric mixer were flouting through the apartment, mixed with the soft jazz music, which still played on the CD player.

Just a few minutes ago, Harm had had a hard time believing his eyes when Mac had pulled the mixer out from her cabinet. He'd shaken his head and couldn't stop himself from making a smart-ass comment about it. "Wow, looks like there's still hope for you, Mac. You have a mixer in your kitchen. I'm impressed, Colonel. Really impressed."

Mac had only shrugged her shoulders and then gave him her explanation with a smirk. "I got the mixer for free when I bought my new coffee maker. It was a 'Two for one'-week at the department store. It was either the mixer or an egg cooker. I actually thought about giving you the mixer for Christmas this year, but just for that comment, Commander, I may rethink my decision." Then she'd given him a cute smile before turning around, leaving the kitchen and a chuckling Harm behind.

"Okay, here comes the glue," Harm announced as soon as he was done with the icing, setting the bowl and an icing bag onto the table.

Mac and the boys quickly cheered and made the wave. "So… what now?" Mac wanted to know and finally gave Jimmy one of the sweets he was able to eat out of the candy bowl.

"Let me guess, you've never made a gingerbread house before. Am I right?"

"You bet. But my uncle once told me that I had a lot of fun crushing the one he made when I was three years old," Mac teasingly answered him. "That was the first and last time he let me near his gingerbread houses."

Harm raised his eyebrow and quickly turned his gaze to Little AJ. "You'll be the guard of this house, buddy. Don't let your aunt near it. Got it?" He asked and held his hand to his godson.

Little AJ delightfully nodded and shook Harm's outstretched hand. "Got it," he announced and started to giggle when he saw the look he got from his aunt.

"Traitor," she murmured and then placed her mouth next to Jimmy's right ear. "Guess we'll have to sneak up on them then, Jimmy." As if he knew exactly what she meant, Jimmy answered her with giggles and bounced on her lap, clapping his hands in delight. Mac nodded her head and smirked at Harm. "Bring it on, Navy."

"You're on, Marine," Harm replied and rubbed his hands. Then he turned his gaze back to Little AJ. "How about you, AJ? Have you ever made a gingerbread house?"

"Uh-uh." Little AJ shook his head. "No, never."

"Well, then it's about time for you to learn how to build one," Harm announced and checked out if everything they needed was on the table. "Mac, you don't have by chance four soup cans I could borrow? Oh wait, that's a stupid question," Harm said with a chuckle, knowing that Mac always had some in her apartment. He walked back into the kitchen and got four cans out of Mac's cupboard. "Okay, now I think we have everything we need."

"Actually, no, there's still something missing," Mac notified and stood up to place Jimmy into his highchair. "Something you taught me this weekend." She made her way to the CD player and turned off the jazz music, replacing it with another CD.

"What's missing?"

"The Christmas spirit."

Harm groaned and rolled his eyes as soon as he discovered the song Mac was playing now. "Oh, come on, Mac. You've got to be kidding me," he said, trying to sound disgusted. Harm's eyes intriguingly followed each of her steps as she walked to the Christmas tree to turn on the strands of lights.

"What? That's absolutely Christmasish, Harm," Mac told him with a smile and sat down right next to him. "And the boys love it. Right, AJ?"

Little AJ didn't care about giving his aunt an answer and had much more fun with singing the legendary Christmas song 'Christmas Don't Be Late' with Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Harm anxiously looked at AJ, then back at Mac and put his mouth right next to her ear. "How many songs like this one do we have to go through?" He wanted to know, fearing the answer.

Mac chuckled. "Don't worry, Harm. Only this song is from the Chipmunks. It's a compilation of Christmas songs. Of course there's also a song sung by the Smurfs."

"Now you're kidding, right?"

"Yes."

Harm sighed in relief. "Thank god. For a second you got me worried there, Marine."

Mac just smiled at him. "Let's start with the gingerbread house. I bet it will make AJ stop singing in a heartbeat."

Together they winced when AJ didn't get the right tone. "Yeah, that sounds like a very good idea," Harm commented and took the now filled icing bag into his hands.

They were right. As soon as Harm said they should start making the gingerbread house, Little AJ stopped the singing and intriguingly listened to his godfather's explanations.

Both Little AJ and Mac helped him to attach the wall pieces with the icing one at a time. As soon as all four walls were glued together, Harm used the four soup cans to hold them up while the icing hardened. It took about thirty minutes before it was firm enough to continue with the roof. They spent these thirty minutes fooling around and listening to little AJ sing.

Since Harm wanted to teach them how to make a gingerbread house, he gave Mac the icing bag and explained to her what to do next. "The ceiling is your job, Marine."

Mac nodded her head and took the icing bag from Harm. Slowly she added the icing to the top edges of the walls and then carefully set the roof pieces in place. Harm watched her and suddenly started to chuckle.

"What?" Mac asked in bewilderment. "What's so funny?" She wanted to know before continuing with her work.

"You really look cute when you're focused on something," Harm told her and pointed to her face. "The way you're sticking your tongue out is simply adorable."

Mac slightly blushed, immediately pulled her tongue back into her mouth and then laid down the icing bag.

As soon as the icing was done hardening, it was Little AJ's job to work on the decorations. The first one to go into place was the top of the roof. Harm told him to line it with the extra icing. After that, it was AJ's decision to place peppermint candies along the top, leaving enough space for his uncle to place the chimney in the middle of the roof. "How's that, Uncle Harm?"

"Perfect, AJ."

Next he added lines with the icing on the roof, decorating them with little sugar candies he found in Mac's candy bowl. When he was done with the lines, he gave the icing bag back to Harm. "Here, Uncle Harm. You're next."

Harm thought for a second about how to continue and finally decided to add swirl designs onto the roof with the icing. Then he added icicles made of icing to the roofline. "Looks like the roof is done," he finally announced and smiled at Mac. "Now it's your turn to do some decorating. Why don't you go ahead and create the front and the back of our little house?"

"This should be fun," Mac muttered, slightly feeling unsteady. Finally she decided to start with a wreath on top; made of the same little sugar candies Little AJ had used and some gumdrops.

After that, she painted a door and a window with the icing, this time using rolled flat gumdrops to color the windows. The frame of the door she made with colored chocolate drops.

As soon as Mac was done with the front side of the house, they turned it around so that she was able to work on the backside, making two more windows with icing and rolled flat gumdrops. "What's next?" Mac asked and glanced at Harm.

"Now, for the big finale, I think Jimmy should add his doing," Harm answered and quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

"You already want him to crush our house?" Mac asked with a smirk.

After a few seconds, Harm came back and took Jimmy out of his highchair, placing him onto his lap. He got a spatula from Mac's kitchen and put it into Jimmy's little hand, covering it with his bigger one so that his godson wouldn't lose the grip.

Together they started to add the snow on the ground, using the spatula to spread icing all over the cardboard base, on which the house stood. Both Jimmy and Harm were competing over who had the brightest smile on his face. Their giggles and laughter sounded like music to Mac's ears.

She was lost in thought and dreamily watched Harm playing and laughing with the boys. It was clearly visible for Mac just how much Harm adored children, how much he's meant to be a father. 'How much I want him to be the father of my children. He'll be a great dad one day,' she thought to herself and couldn't hide the little smile that took place on her face.

Unknown to her, one single teardrop ran down her cheek and she only realized it when Harm softly started to wipe it off with his thumb, just the way he had done so many times in the past. She looked up into his eyes, into a gaze so full of love and understanding.

As soon as Mac felt that Harm started to withdraw his hand from her face, she held it and leant her cheek against the palm of his hand. "You'll be a great dad one day, Harm," Mac quietly spoke out the thought she had had a few seconds ago.

Harm gave her a tender smile, never breaking their eye contact. "Only if I can have the woman I want to have as the mother of my children," he gently told her and tried to let his eyes speak the words he couldn't seem to find at the moment. For now it simply wasn't the right time, nor was it the right place. He smiled and gave her a short nod, silently telling her that everything would be okay.

Mac could only reply with a smile and a nod of her own. Turning her head, she planted a soft tender kiss on the palm of his hand before she squeezed and let go of it. Then she took a gumdrop out of the bowl and started to create a walkway in front of the house while Little AJ placed a few of the chocolate drops to the now snowy looking ground.

"There, all done," Harm finally said. "Our very own gingerbread house."

"It looks beautiful, Uncle Harm," Little AJ responded and you could hear the pride in his voice.

"Yeah, it really does," Mac softly agreed and placed one of the leftover gumdrops into her mouth. "Thanks for showing us how to make one. It was a lot of fun to work on it," she said and suddenly her stomach rumbled.

Harm laughed and shook his head. "I bet I know what's next on our agenda, Ninjagirl."

"Yeah, right about now some food sounds like a very good idea."

"Do you have something particular in mind?" Harm asked, and let Jimmy down on his feet so that he could go play with his toys.

"I still have some leftover chicken soup I made. There's enough left for the four of us," Mac explained and got up from her chair. "And no smart-ass comment, Sailor," Mac immediately added before Harm could reply.

Harm could only laugh and he lifted his hands in surrender. "I wouldn't dare, Marine. I wouldn't dare."

"Good, good. You're a very wise man."

Harm smirked. "I do have my moments. Why don't you make our lunch while I try to work more on the files I have left? Maybe after lunch, when Jimmy is taking his nap, we will be able to get the rest done."

"Sounds good to me. The sooner we're done, the more time we have to spend with much more important things," Mac gently said and gave him a soft smile.

"My thought exactly," Harm responded with a wink and a flyboy grin.

_TBC… _


	15. Chapter 15

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 15 _

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information _

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**1:17 PM**

Mac stood in the kitchen, preparing their lunch and enjoying the enthusiastic sounds which came out of her living room. She wondered what her boys next door were up to, but one thing she knew for sure. There was no way that Harm was working on his files liked he'd planned. She chuckled and shook her head. "Kids. Always trying to come up with something, so they don't have to work on the homework," Mac muttered to herself, continuing to stir up the soup.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Meanwhile in her living room **

"Faster, Uncle Harm. You have to be faster," Little AJ yelled behind him and clapped his hands. "He's getting away. Come on, Uncle Harm. You can get him."

Harm just groaned, not believing what he was doing. 'Good thing the Navy doesn't get to see this,' he thought and chuckled. Then he turned his head to look behind him. 'I already can see the headline in the 'Navy Times'. 'US Navy Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. lost a crawling race against the one-year-old Marine shooting-star James Kirk Roberts'. How did I end up like this anyway?' Harm asked himself and suddenly ran into something. "Aarrgh," he yelped in surprise before letting his eyes wander over the object he just crawled into.

"Nice legs," he commented and rubbed his head. Then his eyes continued to wander up. "Very nice." Finally his eyes greeted a stern face and last but not least a pair of beautiful brown eyes. "Very beautiful. Hi," Harm said sheepish.

Mac raised her eyebrow and chuckled. The scene she'd just watched was simply too funny. "Hi. What are you doing here, Harm?"

"A crawling race," Harm answered in full seriousness.

Mac nodded her head. "So I could see. And here I thought you wanted to work on your files."

"Nope. I came up with the conclusion to do no more work this weekend and to only have fun and enjoy the rest of it," Harm replied, still being on all fours. "I will work on them on Monday, and if it can't be done by then I will simply have to come up with an excuse."

"With a very good excuse I would say," Mac concurred and smiled down at him. She really wanted to laugh out loud since he was still on all fours in front of her, but for now she was able to hold it back. Mac just hoped her lower lip wouldn't be too harmed after all the biting on it.

"I'm sure I can come up with something really good," Harm tried to sound secure about his plan and then gave her his best flyboy grin. "I'm a lawyer after all."

"Yeah, you are and I'm sure you can come up with something good. At least as long as you don't start with 'I'm sorry, General, but there was this crawling race I had to attend against this one-year-old Marine shooting-star called James Kirk Roberts'. I think that wouldn't work very well," Mac told him and when she saw his surprised look and then the blush on his face, she couldn't hold back anymore and started to laugh.

"Uh oh, I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yup, you sure did. Come on. Give me your hand, Harm. I'm starting to get a complex and weird thoughts about seeing you on all fours in front of me," she said with a smirk and held out her hand for him to take. "Where's your rival anyway?" Mac wanted to know and looked around the room.

"He's behind the couch, Auntie Mac," Little AJ quietly announced from the background and pointed to the couch.

Mac and Harm slowly moved forward so that they were able to look behind the furniture, seeing the exhausted Jimmy on the floor, sucking on his thumb.

"Oh man. Great," Harm moaned. "I could have won the race, Mac. That's all your fault, Marine," he said and tried to sound frustrated.

"How many times did he outpace you anyway?"

Harm pulled his hand to his mouth, making a gesture as if he was thinking about his answer. "Mmmphhh timmmphhh," he quietly answered so that she couldn't really hear him.

"What?"

"He said four times, Auntie Mac," Little AJ was once more throwing in an answer from the background.

"Why, thank you, AJ. And here I thought you were my friend," Harm told him, this time trying to sound offended. However, he wasn't able to fool neither his oldest godson nor his best friend.

Mac laughed and shook her head. "Four times? Wow, Harm. That was quite a race. Maybe you were a bit slow though. But I'm sure with some training you'll get much better in the future."

"Put your money where your mouth is, Marine. Next time you have a crawling race against him, let's see who the slow one is," Harm told her and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Agreed," she immediately responded and then smirked. "Mr. Slowpoke." Then she laughed and made her way to the kitchen. "Okay, boys, lunch is ready to be served. Get your hands washed and find your place at the dinning room table."

"Aye, aye, Ma'am," Little AJ and Harm saluted at the same time. Harm took the tired looking Jimmy into his arms before the three made their way to Mac's bathroom.

As soon as they'd washed their hands, Harm, AJ and Jimmy joined Mac at the dinning room table, enjoying the chicken soup. Jimmy was barely awake and Harm had a hard time feeding him. "Guess the race wore him out," Harm softly said and kissed his younger godson's head. "Seems to be a nice trick if your kid doesn't want to go to sleep," he concluded with a smirk. "Just get him into a crawling race."

"Yeah, and his brother apparently could use a nap as well," Mac added and pointed at AJ, who was yawning more often than eating his soup.

"I'm not tired," Little AJ protested but betrayed himself with yet another yawn. "Not really."

Mac and Harm could only shake their heads and chuckled. "I think you should try it and if you can't fall asleep, you can get up again. Deal?" Harm submitted and then thought about his trump card. "But keep in mind, that I really need you wide awake this afternoon."

"Why? For what?" Little AJ curiously wanted to know and took another spoon of soup.

"Well, I thought we should try to dig out my car this afternoon. And maybe we can even find some time to build a snowman. What do you think, buddy? Sound like a good idea for this afternoon?"

Little AJ enthusiastically nodded his head. "We really can go out and play in the snow?"

"Yeah, I think as long as we stay on the parking lot it shouldn't be a problem."

"Cool!" AJ responded while a wide grin took place on his face.

Harm smiled and nodded his head. "Good. Then that's the plan for this afternoon. But like I said, I need all your energy for this project, so you better try to get some shuteye, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Harm. I'll try," Little AJ promised and immediately got up from his chair to get ready for the nap.

Mac and Harm's eyes followed him until he disappeared behind the guestroom's door. "While we're talking about digging out your car," Mac threw in and looked at Harm. "Have you thought about how we should handle this tomorrow morning? After all, the mini-van is standing in front of your apartment and the chances for it being snowed-in like your car are very high."

Harm nodded his head. "Yeah, I think we can assume that the mini-van is just as snowed-in as the SUV. What was your actual plan for tomorrow?"

"Just getting the kids to daycare and pre-school before I go to work. Around six o'clock I would pick them up again and bring them straight home."

"And when is Harriet and Bud's plane scheduled?"

"The late afternoon. They're going to take a cab back home," Mac explained. "Do you want anymore soup?"

Harm shook his head. "No, thanks."

Mac got up and brought the dishes into the kitchen. "So you just have to pick up the kids and bring them home?" Harm called behind her, already concocting a plan. He got up from his chair carefully, holding a dozing Jimmy carefully in his arms.

"Yes, they insisted on taking a cab," Mac answered as she came back to the living room. "They didn't want me to do all the extra driving after work. You know them and how they can get."

Harm chuckled and made his way to Mac's guestroom to get Jimmy's bag. "Sure do. But I think that gives us the solution for our little car problem."

"Which is?" Mac wanted to know and then slowly followed Harm into her bedroom. She sat down on the bed right next to where Harm had laid down Jimmy so he could change him.

"We're taking the SUV tomorrow morning and go with your plan. After work we can pick up the kids before driving to my apartment to dig out the mini-van," Harm explained his solution while changing the now asleep Jimmy. "As soon as we're done we can bring the kids and the car back home. Have you set up a time with Harriet for getting the kids home?"

Mac shook her head, softly touching Jimmy's cheek with her fingertips. "No, but I told her that I would get the kids around six o'clock."

"Then we just have to let them know that we'll bring them home a bit later than planned. That shouldn't be a problem," Harm concluded and started to button up Jimmy's rompers. When he was done, he kissed Jimmy's forehead before picking him up again, cradling him in his arms.

"I could tell Harriet about our plan when Little AJ is calling her. He wanted to try this afternoon, just to make sure that they would come home in this weather."

"Do you think it is possible?" Harm asked as they walked through the living room to get Jimmy down for his nap.

"I'm not quite sure yet but I hope that Harriet and Bud know more when AJ is talking with them."

"Look who's already asleep," Harm whispered after he'd opened the door to the guestroom, seeing that Little AJ was already fast asleep in his bed. Then he laid Jimmy down into his crib and covered him with his blanket.

"Looks like he was more tired than he thought," Mac quietly said and walked over to Little AJ. She kissed his forehead before adjusting his blanket. "He for sure had a rough night and I guess all the excitement was a bit too much for him," she whispered and then left the room together with Harm. "Either that or mentioning your plan for this afternoon did the trick. Would you like some coffee, Harm?"

Mac stopped dead in her tracks and turned around when Harm didn't answer her, seeing that he hadn't followed her and still stood in the doorway of her guestroom. "Harm?" Mac once more tried to get his attention, but again he didn't answer her, nor did it look like he was hearing her.

Mac slowly made her way back to him, trying to read his body language. He seemed to be tensed and obviously deep in thought. The moment she stood right behind him Mac got on tiptoes, looked over his shoulder and followed his gaze, which was glued to where Jimmy was sleeping.

She tenderly placed her hand on Harm's back, surprised that he didn't flinched or jerked away. He apparently wasn't taken aback by her standing so close to him. "Harm?" Mac whispered right next to his ear. "Are you okay?"

Harm turned his head a little so that he was able to look at her. "Huh?"

"I wanted to know if you're okay. You seemed so far away."

Harm gave her a little smile and took her left hand into his to squeeze it. "Don't worry, Mac. I'm fine."

"Why don't we make us some coffee and then we could sit down and talk some or maybe watch a movie. If you'd like," Mac suggested and took one step backwards so that Harm could close the door.

"Coffee and talking sound like a good idea," Harm replied with a smile.

She returned his smile with one of her own. "Good. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be back with the coffee."

Mac started to go into the kitchen, only to be held back by Harm's gentle grip on her arm. "Mac?"

Mac turned around and looked into Harm's eyes. "Yeah?"

"If I would ask you to tell me the story about the crib Jimmy's sleeping in, would you tell it to me?" Harm softly asked, finally letting go of his fear to confront her about it. 'God, I hope I didn't do something wrong now,' he thought but the look he read in Mac's eyes showed no discomfort or uneasiness.

Mac took a deep breath and nodded. "I promise. Let me make us some coffee and then we can talk about it, okay?"

Harm gave her his flyboy grin and nodded his head. "I would like that," he said and softly kissed her forehead. "I would like that very much."

_TBC… _


	16. Chapter 16

**AN – Okay everyone… please don't take it the wrong way but right now I'm using you all and posting part 16 as excuse to get away from my uninvited guests for a while… So BIG thanks for letting me use you lolol and of course for all the great reviews :-)**

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 16_

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

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**2:03 PM**

Mac walked out of her kitchen, holding two mugs of steaming coffee in her hands and saw that Harm had turned on the TV. He obviously was checking out the latest news about the weather situation around Washington DC.

The moment Harm saw her coming out of the kitchen he turned off the TV and took one of the mugs from Mac. "Thanks," he said and took a big gulp. "Hmm, you learned how to make squid-coffee."

"Just for you, Harm," Mac answered and smiled at him. "How's the forecast?" Mac wanted to know, motioning with her head to the now turned off TV. She sat down on the couch right next to Harm and pulled one of her legs underneath her.

"The newscast said that the chance for more snow is slim and they hope that Dulles will reopen on Monday morning at the latest."

"Good. That means Harriet and Bud will get back to Washington as planned," Mac softly concluded and took a sip of her coffee.

Harm raised his eyebrow and looked astonished at Mac. "What? You're already getting tired of babysitting the boys, Marine?" Harm smirked, trying to hide his roguish grin behind his mug. He enjoyed teasing her a bit. "I thought marines are tougher than that."

Mac slightly smacked his arm and shook her head. "They are tougher than that and no, I'm not already tired of it. I am enjoying this weekend very much, thank you."

Harm gave her one of his flyboy grins she loved so much and took her right hand into his to give it a gentle squeeze. "So am I, Mac. So am I." He frowned for a second and then smiled. "Maybe we should do this more often."

Mac liked his suggestion and gave him a smile of her own. "I like the idea. This way Harriet and Bud can have more time for themselves before the twins arrive."

Harm nodded his head. "Yeah, and it also gives us the chance to practice some more before…," Harm pursued his thoughts but suddenly stopped, losing the smile on his face and the glimmer in his eyes in the process. He then looked apologetic at Mac. "I'm sorry, Mac. I shouldn't have said that," he started to apologize but was stopped by her soft fingers on his lips.

"Don't Harm," Mac tenderly said and looked deeply into his eyes, seeing that he blamed himself for what he'd just said. "There's no need to apologize and maybe it is time for us to really talk about this all."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel pressured or anything."

She nodded her head and placed her mug on the coffee table. Then she readjusted her position on the couch so that she was able to look better at him. "I am sure, Harm. Not talking about this or simply running away from it obviously doesn't make the situation any better or make it go away," Mac gently explained, took a deep breath and then continued to explain in a whisper. "I've tried it too many times and I have to accept that it doesn't work like that. I'm tired of running away."

Now it was Harm who let go of his mug to place it on the coffee table. Then he took both of Mac's hands into his to give them yet another gentle squeeze. "Then we both should stop doing that and start to take some steps forward and in the right direction."

"It may not be easy, Harm," Mac quietly interjected and continued to look deeply into Harm's eyes, trying to absorb all the strength she could see there and to convert it to her own strength.

"No, it may not," Harm admitted in honesty. "But is running away easy, Mac?"

"No. No, it's not easy. It actually is getting harder and harder each time I try," Mac softly confessed and gave him a little smile.

Harm nodded his head in understanding. "Come here," he softly said and readjusted his position on the couch. He sprawled out his left leg on top of it before tenderly pulling Mac between his legs, so that she was now lying with her back against his chest. Then he kissed the top of her head and fondly embraced her. "There, that's much better," he whispered and this time kissed her right ear. "And now let's make a deal."

Mac snuggled deeper into Harm's arms, enjoying the warmth coming from his solid body. Then she lightly turned her head so that she could look up at him and was greeted by a warm smile. "What kind of deal?"

"From this moment on, we both won't ignore any kind of problem if there is one. Not if it is between us, or if one of us has a problem. Also, we will never ever run away from them again. And should one of us actually forget about this pact and starts to run, the other has the permission to use a lariat to lasso and capture the running one. Deal?"

Mac giggled and threw her hands to her mouth, trying to hush herself. "Kinky," she answered between her giggles.

"Hey, I'm serious here," Harm said but couldn't hold back some chuckles of his own. The picture of him capturing Mac with a lariat or the other way around indeed had something kinky to it. At least in his own way of imagining it.

Mac tried to get herself under control again. "I know, and I'm sorry," she said, then got serious again and finally nodded her head. "It sounds like a good deal to me."

"Good. Now that that's settled, why don't we try to work with this new pact?"

Mac immediately knew what Harm wanted to talk about. She also knew that she was ready to share the story with him. "The crib?" She softly asked, took his folded hands into hers and started to caress the palms of his hands.

"Yeah, I would like to know more about it. I thought it was Jimmy's crib but AJ told me that you actually bought it for your own children and that Jimmy was only using it."

"Not only Jimmy," Mac quietly said and continued to caress Harm's hands.

Harm frowned, not understanding the meaning behind Mac's comment. "What do you mean by that?"

Mac took another deep breath and then once more turned her head a little so that she could look right into Harm's eyes. "Jimmy is not the only child who slept in this crib, Harm. Years ago, Little AJ used to sleep in it as well when he spent the night."

Mac could practically see how the wheels in Harm's head were running now, trying to work with the information he just got and to understand the meaning behind her words.

"When did you buy the crib, Mac?" Harm asked in wonder. "I never saw the crib before, and AJ told me that you talked with Harriet about it while you two were getting Jimmy ready for bed."

"The day of Little AJ's birth," Mac whispered her straight answer.

She could immediately hear and feel Harm's reaction by the sharp breath he took and by him intensifying his embrace.

He didn't say anything and Mac took it as a clue to continue her story. "After we'd visit Harriet and the baby in the hospital, I was on my way home when I drove pass a baby store. I thought I should go in and try to find a present for my godson. I was amazed at all the cute little things you can buy for babies to wear, or all the toys you can get for them. I spent quite some time in the store and finally found a blanket for AJ. I was on my way out when somehow I ended up in the furniture department and I saw this crib."

She stopped her story to take another deep breath and Harm took the opportunity to kiss her cheek but he still didn't say anything.

Mac chuckled and shook her head in wonder about her own reaction back then. "I stood there, simply looking at it in awe when one of the saleswomen came to me and asked if she could help me and if I was looking for something for my child."

"What did you tell her?" Harm softly asked, still feeling slightly taken aback by the story Mac was telling him.

Mac shrugged her shoulders and then smiled up at him. "The moment she said 'my child' all I could think about was the deal we'd made earlier that day. Back then, I was so sure that I would have a child of my own one day. May it be in five years or even earlier. It didn't really matter to me, so I told the saleswoman that I indeed wanted the crib for my child."

She once more shook her head and started to chuckle. "I really have no idea what happened next but I ended up with that crib and moreover, I had to get that thing to my apartment with my new 'vette. I can tell ya, that was quite an experience."

Harm laughed and squeezed her hands. "You have good taste, that's for sure. I love the crib. It really is beautiful."

Mac just sighed and didn't say anything.

"What?" Harm asked, trying to find out what her sigh meant.

Mac moved out of Harm's embrace and sat up again. She interlocked her hands while her gaze was focused on them. "Maybe the saying is right," she answered him in a whisper without looking up.

Harm could clearly hear the sadness in her voice and quickly laid his finger under her chin to pull her head up so that he could look into her eyes. "What saying?"

"That you never should buy something for a baby before…," Mac started to explain but was immediately interrupted by Harm's finger on her lips.

"Don't, Mac. It's not true and moreover, it is not the reason why things happened the way they did," Harm told her with a strong voice. He had to make her understand that buying the crib had nothing to do with her having problems getting pregnant. "The saying is simply a superstition. And I know that you don't believe in something like that. So don't start now, okay?"

"I'm trying," Mac whispered and looked down at their clutched hands. "But that at least would give me a reason why I can't…."

Harm once more interrupted her. "Then try harder, Mac. There could be a lot of reasons why things are the way they are. Heck, who knows, maybe us getting in contact with the radiation back then in Afghanistan is the reason," Harm gently told her, wanting to make her believe that it wasn't her fault. "The point is that we can't always have control for the things that happen around us. Some of them simply happen for no reason. But, please, believe me when I say that buying this beautiful crib is not the reason for it."

Mac looked up at him and couldn't hold back the single tear which slowly ran down her cheek. Harm once more wiped it off with his thumb. "I really want to believe you, Harm."

"Then do it, Mac. And if you can't believe my words, then I guess I'll have to show you the test results I got from my doctor," Harm said with a grin, knowing that he would win this argument.

"What test? I don't understand."

"The test about my swimmers."

Mac raised her eyebrow and frowned. "Your swimmers?"

"Yup, my swimmers. If the saying is true and buying things for a baby you don't have yet means bad luck when it comes to pregnancy, then it means that I can't have any babies either, right? But the test I had told me otherwise and my swimmers are doing just fine, thank you," Harm explained and smirked.

"You had a test about your swimmers?" Mac asked bewildered and pointed with her forefinger to a certain part of Harm's body.

He only nodded his head and gave her another grin. "Yup, I did."

"When?"

This time it was Harm who shrugged his shoulders. "A few months ago," he vaguely told her, and Mac could hear that he was holding something back.

"Shortly before the Admiral's dining-out?" Mac asked, trying to get all the little pieces of their puzzle together.

Harm nodded his head. "Yes. I… I just wanted to make sure… you know… to make sure that everything was okay before I would make the final step."

"Oh, Harm," Mac responded and threw herself into his arms, giving him a bear hug. "That's so sweet. However, I'm not sure if the saying goes for men too, you know," Mac said and suddenly let go of him. "Whoa," she yelled and pulled herself out of his grip.

"What? What's wrong?" Harm asked, not understanding Mac's reaction.

She stared at him with wide-open eyes, not believing what she just discovered. "You told me that if the saying's true it would mean that you can't have children but that the test told you that you could have them."

"Yes, that's what I said." By now Harm knew what Mac's reaction was about and a slight blush covered his face.

"You bought something for your child?" Mac asked in a whisper and got a nod from Harm in response. "What? When?"

"A few months ago. I was getting some gifts for our godsons and saw this cute little outfit for a girl." Harm shrugged his shoulders and smiled at Mac. "I pictured our little daughter in it and had to buy it."

They couldn't hold back anymore and together they started to laugh, trying to keep it as quiet as possible so that they wouldn't wake up the boys.

"Boy, we're quite a pair, aren't we?" Mac asked and continued to laugh.

"A perfect one," Harm submitted.

"A totally crazy one," Mac suggested.

"A being in love one?" Harm proposed this time with a question and hoped to make yet again another step in the right direction. He softly cradled Mac's head into his hands, tensely waiting for her answer.

Mac slowly moved forward until her lips softly touched his. She gave him a short but sweet kiss before pulling back as far as needed to be able to look into his eyes. "A perfect and totally crazy being in love one," Mac replied and returned Harm's smile.

Once more their lips slowly came together for yet another kiss. However, this time their kiss was much more passionate and demanding.

"Yuck!"

Harm and Mac immediately pulled away from each other in surprise and looked at their intruder. Harm at once had to groan while Mac let herself fall backwards onto the couch. She took one of the cushions into her hands so that she was able to cover her head and most of all her laughter with it.

"Kissing like that is yucky," AJ explained as a matter of fact. Then he looked at Harm. "Can we go out now and play in the snow, Uncle Harm?" Little AJ wanted to know, already wearing his snowsuit.

Harm could hear his younger godson through the baby monitor and knew that Jimmy was awake too. "Sure, AJ. Why don't you get your shoes on and then we can go outside. Okay?"

"Okay," AJ answered in satisfaction and then quickly made his way to the guestroom.

Harm's eyes followed his godson and as soon as AJ disappeared behind the threshold, he let his gaze wander to the still laughing woman right next to him. He carefully moved on top of her and slowly took the pillow away from Mac's face, only to be welcome by a beautiful smiling face. "This guy for sure has Bud's timing," he annoyingly told her before capturing her lips with his for another loving kiss.

"We better get ready before he once more catches us while doing this yucky thing," Mac said with a giggle after they broke their latest kiss.

Harm sighed and stood up from the couch before holding his hands out for Mac so that he could help her up. "Yeah, we better. Why don't you get Jimmy ready while I get the mugs to the kitchen?"

"Sounds good to me."

"But we're not done yet, Marine."

Mac smiled and looked with a raised eyebrow at him. "We'd better not be done yet, Sailor. Otherwise you'll have one angry marine on your cute little six," she said with a chuckle and started to move to her guestroom.

Harm's hand immediately caught her arm before she was out of reach and pulled her back to him. He tenderly touched her cheek with his fingertips and finally said the words he wanted to tell her for so long. "I love you, Mac."

Mac took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She captured Harm's hand, which was still caressing her cheek, and kissed the palm of it. Then she looked up at Harm and got on her tiptoes to give him a soft kiss. "I love you too, Harm," she said and just like him was finally able to tell him what she wanted him to know for so long.

"I'm ready," Little AJ yelled from behind and looked impatiently at his godparents.

"We're coming," they said together and quickly parted to get done with their tasks.

_TBC_


	17. Chapter 17

**AN - lololol, you gals and guys rock! Thank you so much for your feedback (I'm getting back to you as soon as real life gives me some time. Promise!) and most of all for allowing me to 'use' you if it's necessary ;-) But let's hope it won't happen again, okay :-) Here's part 17… Enjoy (I hope)**

**... oh, and Ana-Maria... your idea from chapter 11... hmmm, now there's a thought... I have to think about it :-)**

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 17_

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

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_

**3:17 PM**

Little AJ sprinted down the corridor of Mac's apartment house to push open the heavy door that would lead him to the parking lot and finally to the snow he'd craved for. "Yeah," he hollered in excitement, throwing his arms into the air and ran out.

"AJ, slow down and be careful," Mac called after him. "It could be slippery out there."

"Ya," Jimmy loudly screamed and ran as fast as his legs would carry him after his big brother. His path however was broken when the heavy door fell loudly back into its slot. Jimmy stopped in front of it and tried to reach the knob but failed to due his height. He turned his gaze to his godparents and pointed with his finger at the door. "Out," he said before turning back to the door and pounded his little fists on it. Once more he tried to reach the knob while jumping up and down.

Harm and Mac chuckled at his impatience and made their way to him. All they could do was shake their heads in disbelief about the energy and enthusiasm these two little boys had. "We're coming, we're coming," Harm told Jimmy while he picked him up.

"After you, Milady," Harm said and bowed to Mac while gentlemanly-like holding the door open for her, trying to keep a squirming Jimmy in his other arm.

"Thank you, Milord," Mac replied with a smile and stepped out into the parking lot, just to be confronted by the cold winter air. Her hands immediately went to the labels of her coat, holding them safely together. "Was it already this cold yesterday?" She asked Harm in wonder.

He stood right next to her and could just shake his head. Each time they exhaled into the cold air, they were creating foggy clouds. After placing Jimmy down, Harm blew at his hands before getting his leather gloves out of his coat. "Not that I can remember."

Harm took off his scarf and gently started to put it around Mac's throat. "Here, I think you can use it more than me."

Mac's hands immediately stopped his doings while she looked into his eyes. "No, Harm. You should keep it or you'll get too cold. I'm wearing a turtleneck sweater but you're not. You need the scarf more than I do, or I could go back to my apartment and get one of my own," she softly told him but only got a shake of his head in answer.

"Don't worry about me, Mac. As soon as I start working, I'll get all warm," he replied just as softly and gave her a kind smile. "And now take good care of my scarf, Marine, while I dig out my car." With that, Harm turned around and crossed the parking lot to get to his car.

"Will do," Mac whispered and pulled his scarf even closer to her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, sighing in pleasure when she could smell the unique scent she loved so much of its owner. "Believe me, I will."

"Come on, Auntie Mac," Little AJ suddenly yelled a few feet away from her and brought her back to the present. "Play with us."

Mac opened her eyes again and had to laugh when she saw her giggling godsons lying in one of the snowdrifts while throwing some of the snow into the air just to get covered with it. She had to laugh even more when she saw Harm right in the middle of their newest playground. While shaking her head Mac walked to the snowdrift and was greeted by three pairs of shining eyes and the sound of happy laughter.

"Hey, Mac," Harm welcomed her with one of his flyboy grins and chuckled. "Want to play with us boys?"

"You boys are having fun I see," Mac said with a raised eyebrow and smiled at them. "Good thing you guys are wearing snowsuits. Well, at least the ones named Roberts that is," she added while looking at her godsons. Then she turned her gaze to the very happy looking Harm. "Now you, Mister, are not wearing any kind of snowsuit. I just hope you won't get sick."

"Don't worry, Mom," Harm replied, his smile getting even wider if that's possible. "If I'll get sick, I hope a certain marine will take good care of me and give me some TLC."

"Really? I somehow doubt the General has time for such a full-time job, Harm," Mac jokingly pointed out while crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Harm placed both of his hands over his heart and gave her a wounded look. "You wound me, Mac. How can you think and tell me that the General won't have the time to take care of me? I have to let you know that we're buddies."

"Auntie Mac, you're a marine. Why don't you take care of Uncle Harm?" Little AJ wanted to know and looked in wonder at his godmother.

"Yeah, Mac. Why can't you take care of me if I should get sick?" Harm repeated his godson's question and gave her a 'so there'-look.

Mac held out her hand to Harm so that she could help him out of the snowdrift. "Let's hope it doesn't come to it in the first place, okay? I know how you get when you're sick, Harm."

Harm took hold of Mac's hand, but for now stayed where he was. "How do I get, Mac?"

Mac's first mistake was to look at Little AJ and Jimmy while they were getting out of the snowdrift to find another one they could jump on. Her second mistake was to give her partner an answer while her mind wasn't one-hundred percent directed at him. "You're one cranky squid while being sick," she told him and immediately got his answer.

Harm's facial expression changed and a devilish look and smile took place on his face before he pulled in one swift motion at Mac's outstretched arm.

"Haarrmm!" Mac yelled in surprise and fell right on top of Harm. She was barely able to catch her fall and ended up nose to nose with him. "You! How dare you," Mac hissed, trying to sound upset but terribly failing when she couldn't hold back her own smile.

Harm chuckled and took her face into his palms. "That's what happens when a marine challenges the Navy while said marine isn't on alert," he answered with a boyish grin. Then he pulled her face even closer to his and finally was able to kiss her lips with all the love he felt for her.

Little AJ obviously was engaged with playing in the snow so that his godparents only needed to end their kiss when they'd needed to take a breath and not because he was telling them it was 'yucky' to kiss like they'd just done.

"You're one sneaky squid, you know that?" Mac gave his chest a gentle slap.

Harm looked up at Mac with some puppy eyes. "You would take care of me, if I should get sick, right?"

Mac got off of Harm and once more offered her hand to him, finally helping him up from the snowdrift. "I promise you the best TLC you ever got in your life, Harm," she seductively answered him with a sweet smile.

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah," Mac promised before giving him a little push to the direction of his car. "But like I said, let's hope it doesn't come to it, okay? And now you better dig out your car. The sooner you get out of your wet clothes the better."

Harm's eyes glimmered and he once more showed her his best flyboy grin. He made a step forward to put his mouth right next to her ear. "Hmm, you want to get me out of my clothes. I already like your version of TLC, Sarah," he purred into her ear before his tongue darted out to trace the lines of her ear.

Mac could only giggle but suddenly had to moan when he took her earlobe into his mouth to nibble on it. She once more pushed him away from her and cleared her throat. "Harm," she hoarsely groaned out and pointed with her forefinger at the still snow-covered car a few feet away from them. "Your car…. Now…. Dig it out…. Just dig it out." Without waiting for a response she turned around and joined AJ and Jimmy to build a snowman.

Harm just chuckled and followed her with his eyes, knowing that he'd caught her unexpected with the move he'd just made. The fact that she couldn't bring out one full sentence made it clear to him. It felt so great to him. To be finally able to flirt with her this way, to know that they'd reached the point where they were reading at the same time the same page of their book called 'Us'.

However, Harm also had to admit to himself that his move surprised him too, wondering why it wasn't so easy before. 'Does it really matter?' He asked himself and could immediately give himself the answer. 'No, not at all. The only thing that matters is the here and now, and the fulfillment of this dream. Our dream.' With that he turned around and made his way to the snowed-in car, hoping that he would be able to dig it out as soon as possible so that he could help with the snowman.

Mac took another deep breath. 'Get a grip, MacKenzie,' she told herself, still surprised about Harm's actions.

Earlier, she'd actually thought about helping him with the car, but now she knew it was the best for both of them to let him do it alone and to stay away from each other. Otherwise, they would never get done with the work.

'I'm feeling like a lovesick teenager, who can't wait to make out on the couch with her prince.' Mac had to giggle about her own thoughts. "Geez, you really got it bad, Marine," she murmured out loud and couldn't keep herself from turning around to look once more at the object of her thoughts. "Really bad."

_TBC_


	18. Chapter 18

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 18_

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

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**Mac's Apartment**

**The parking lot**

**3:34 PM**

Harm whistled to himself, feeling happy that it was a much easier task to dig out his car than he'd feared just a few hours ago, thanks to it being covered with only a thin layer of snow. Even the fact that the blanket was a bit iced couldn't damper his happiness. Without that problem he would have been done about five minutes ago and already could have joined Mac and the boys to build their snowman, but still he knew it could have been much worse. There simply was no reason for him to complain or to mourn about it.

He once more turned his head to look at the giggling and laughing boys, seeing that they weren't working on a snowman yet, but rather got chased by a very happy sounding and even happier looking Sarah MacKenzie. Harm laughed out loud when he saw her suddenly get hit on her back by a snowball which Little AJ had thrown at her and then turned back to his car so he could take part of their game soon.

Harm was just getting the windshield freed from the snow blanket when suddenly something cold and wet hit is neck. "Aarrgh," he yelled out just as another flying object hit him at the exact same spot.

"Good shot, Auntie Mac," Little AJ said between giggles and took some more snow into his own hands to build another snowball he could throw at his godmother.

"Marine, did you just throw a snowball at me?" Harm yelled across the parking lot and slowly started to move forward to her.

"Nope, I didn't," Mac coolly answered while molding another wet and fluffy snowball in her glove-clad hands, knowing it couldn't hurt him. "I actually have thrown two snowballs at you, Harm," she explained with a smirk and then threw another one at him, this time hitting him right in the face.

"She hits, she scores," Mac triumphantly shouted, emphasizing her triumph with a little dance.

"Oh, you want it the hard way, Marine?" Harm asked, wiping the snow out of his face before he slowly bent forward.

Mac kept a hawk-eye on him, answering his move with one of her own. She took a step backwards, trying to get some distance between them.

"Uh oh, Auntie Mac," Little AJ whispered from her right side. "I think Uncle Harm plans an attack," he let her know and started to move out of his godfather's way.

"Ut O," Jimmy copied his bigger brother's words and giggled. He seemed to know what his uncle was planning, and just like AJ, he started to get out of his godfather's way.

Harm's first snowball was harmless and passed Mac's face with a whoosh. She just laughed at his miss and bent down to get snow for another snowball. However, Mac was too slow and the moment she was standing upright again, Harm already was standing way too close to her. He had a mischievous and satisfied smile on his face, and a made snowball in his right hand. "Anything you would like to tell me, Ms. MacKenzie?"

Mac kept her eye on the snowball he had in his hand. She shook her head and then turned around, trying to get away from him with a shriek.

Harm just chuckled at Mac's move and then threw the snowball at her, hitting her back. "You got your chance, MacKenzie. Now you'll have to suffer," he hollered and then started to run after her.

"Yay, Uncle Harm, you'll catch her," Little AJ cheered from the right side and his little brother completed it with clapping his hands. They had a blast watching their godparents chasing each other.

"Traitor," Mac called to Little AJ between her giggles. She could hear that Harm was already too close behind her, so she couldn't bend down to get more snow for another snowball. She just continued to giggle and tried to get out of his reach.

Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks, knowing there was no way she could possibly hide from him. With a laugh she turned around, seeing that Harm already had caught up with her. His shining eyes told her that he was up to something and then there was his right arm, hidden behind his back. He obviously was ready for their battle.

"You surrender?" Harm asked with a raised eyebrow, sounding slightly out of breath.

"A marine surrendering to the Navy? Never," Mac let him know, sounding even more out of breath than he did.

"Your mistake, MacKenzie. Your mistake," Harm said and gave her one of his flyboy grins before catching her off guard with another one of his quick moves. In one swift motion he stepped forward and caught the surprised and giggling Mac, just to throw her over his shoulders.

Now it was clear to Mac that the arm he'd hidden behind his back was a ruse he'd set and that she'd fallen for it. "Harm, what are you doing?" She asked him, but couldn't stop laughing.

"Payback is hell, Marine. Never challenge the Navy. I thought I'd taught you that earlier," Harm said and looked around the parking lot, trying to find the right spot for his final move. Then he finally found it. "Ah ha, there it is," he muttered more to himself than to Mac and started to walk to the place he found.

"Harm?"

"Be quiet, Marine, Navy on a mission here," he commanded and suddenly came to a halt. "Enjoy it, MacKenzie."

"Enjoy wh…," Mac started to ask but couldn't finish the question when Harm suddenly threw her right into a huge snowdrift so that she landed on her back.

Before Mac was even able to make a move of her own, Harm already was on top of her, sitting on her hips with a wide grin on his face. He took both her hands into his and placed them above her head. At the same time he moved his head much closer to hers so that they were able to feel their hot breaths on each other's faces.

Harm was just on his way to close the final distance between their lips so that he could give her a kiss, when Mac abruptly turned her face away, as if she wanted to avoid his kiss.

He was surprised by her move and even slightly hurt when he suddenly saw a slow smile on Mac's face. "Harm, if I were you, I would let go of me."

Harm just raised his eyebrow. "Now why should I do that?"

"Well, there are two little boys standing right behind you and they have quite an amount of snow in their hands, waiting to make their move."

Harm laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, right, Marine. You actually want to tell me that the boy you called a traitor just a few seconds ago is now standing right behind me, waiting to attack me? Never! I won't fall for your trap, MacKenzie."

Mac shrugged her shoulders as much as it was possible in her position and moved her gaze so that she could look directly into Harm's still shining eyes. "If you don't believe me, Harm, it's your problem. But be aware, you should never underestimate a Roberts. Moreover, you should never underestimate two of them, right AJ?"

"Yup! That's right," Little AJ immediately answered his godmother from behind Harm and surprised his godfather with that.

Harm loosened his hold on Mac's hands and turned around just to be face to face with two smiling boys. Before he could say something, AJ and Jimmy threw the snow they were holding in their hands at him, covering his head and face with it. Then they jumped up and down in joy while clapping their hands in excitement.

"Damn," Harm murmured to himself and suddenly was flipped over by one grinning marine, who copied his earlier move and held his hands down above his head.

"And last but not least, Harm. Never EVER underestimate a marine," Mac added with a smirk before surprising him with her next move. One quick look behind her told Mac that the boys were gone to play somewhere else and she immediately turned her gaze back to the man underneath her and slowly started to moisten her lips. "And now this marine will collect what belongs to her."

"What would that be?" Harm whispered his question, not sure what she was talking about.

Mac moved her head closer to his and once more licked her lips. "You wanted to kiss me earlier, didn't you? Before I told you that the boys were standing behind you."

Harm just gave her a nod as answer.

"And you thought I was trying to avoid your kiss, didn't you? I could see the glimmer of hurt in your eyes. I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yeah, for a moment I thought you didn't want me to kiss you," Harm quietly admitted.

Mac moved her face even closer to Harm's so that her lips were barely touching his, her eyes never leaving his. "Never think that I wouldn't want you to kiss me, Harm. Hell would freeze over before that happens. Okay?" With each spoken word, her lips were softly brushing his.

"Okay."

"Good, and now I would very much like to collect that kiss. Is that okay with you?"

Harm gave her his flyboy grin she loved so much and then nodded his head. "Very okay," he softly answered.

He had hardly finished his answer when Mac's lips descended down on his to give him a long kiss full of love and tenderness.

"Wow," Harm said in a whisper as soon as they broke their kiss.

"Yeah. Wow indeed," Mac agreed and slowly got up from him before helping him stand up. "Come on, I bet you're freezing already down there."

"Nah, you have a very nice way to warm me up, Sarah."

They smiled at each other and without letting go of each other's hand they made their way to AJ and Jimmy, which were already trying to make the first part of their snowman. "Uncle Harm! Auntie Mac! Come on, you have to help us build the biggest snowman in the whole world," AJ called for them and continued to roll a little snowball in front of him, hoping it would pick up a lot of snow so that it would be one huge ball in the end.

"What do ya think, Sailor? Want to build a Mr. Snowman?"

"Can we build a Mrs. Snowman too?" Harm asked with a gleam of hope in his eyes. "This way Mr. Snowman doesn't have to be all alone each day and night."

Mac looked around the parking lot and shrugged her shoulders. "There's for sure enough snow around here."

"Great, then let's do it," Harm replied with a laugh and started to run to the boys, having a laughing Mac in tow since he never let go of her hand.

_TBC_


	19. Chapter 19

**AN – Okay everyone… yesterday I was a bit late with posting and therefore I thought I should try to post this part a bit earlier than normally. Hope you don't mind ;-) Thanks for all your reviews and kind words. I appreciate it. ****I'm glad you enjoy my story and I hope you like this part too… **

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 19_

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

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**The parking lot**

**6:23 PM**

"Okay, what do you all think? Did we do a good job?" Harm asked the boys and Mac while they stood in front of their just finished version of 'Mr. and Mrs. Snowman'.

Harm had put his left arm around Mac's shoulders so he could hold her close to him while his right one held Little AJ protectively against him. Jimmy stood right in front of his aunt, clasping her left hand in his own ones. They all had a bright smile on their faces as they surveyed their work.

Around them it was already pitch dark, but the parking lot lights gave them more than enough light to enjoy their efforts. A while ago it'd started to snow a little bit, but the little flakes were only visible while looking straight into the ray of the lights.

"If you're asking me, young man, I would say you all did a very good job," a familiar voice gently commented from their left before either of them could say something. "I especially like the guard dog Mr. and Mrs. Snowman have for protection," Mrs. Ebenezer elaborated some more and finally moved out of the shadow, where she'd stood completely unknown to Mac, Harm and the two boys for more than an hour.

Over an hour ago Mrs. Ebenezer had thought that leaving her apartment to get some fresh air outside was one of the best ideas she had had over this weekend and as soon as she'd walked outside the house she noticed just how right she had been.

The moment she'd opened the door that would lead her to the parking lot, she was greeted by a very happy sound coming from her left side. It was the mixed sounds of giggles and laughter from children and adults. It didn't take long for her to realize that it was coming from Sarah and her guests.

It had already started getting dark, but she'd still been able to see exactly where the sound came from. She enjoyed watching the little family, which hadn't noticed her yet. They were so engrossed in what they were doing and being together, that nothing else around them had existed.

It'd warmed her heart and made her smile to see just how happy Sarah looked while being together with the children and her Harm. The sadness and pain Mrs. Ebenezer so often had been able to see in her eyes and body language through the years seemed to have vanished. "Be happy, my dear. Let your Prince Charming give you the love he feels for you. Let him in, Sarah, and you will get the happiness you so much deserve," Mrs. Ebenezer had spoken quietly into the wind, hoping it would convey the message to the young woman, who stood a few feet away from her.

Harm looked at the familiar figure coming out of the shadow and smiled. Then his gaze moved to the guard dog Mrs. Ebenezer was talking about and had to smile even more.

The figure right next to Mrs. Snowman didn't really look like a dog and much more like an unidentifiable creature with four legs. However, Little AJ had insisted to get Mr. and Mrs. Snowman a dog, so it could protect them at night. That's why he and his uncle had tried to build a snow-dog too. 'Guess Mrs. Ebenezer has overheard our conversation about building a dog. Either that or you have to stand far away from it to identify it as such,' Harm thought and chuckled.

"That's Barney," Little AJ proudly told her. "He's a German shepherd dog."

"Oh, I can see that, AJ. Did you make it?" She asked him even though she knew the answer already.

Little AJ nodded his head and then looked up at his godfather. "Uncle Harm helped me."

Mrs. Ebenezer smiled at Harm and then turned her gaze back to the young boy. "You two did a really good job. He looks like a very protective dog to me. I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Snowman are more than safe standing here all night and day with him around."

Her answer made AJ smile even more and he looked up at his godparents. "See, I told you they needed a dog to be safe here."

Harm and Mac could only chuckle and gave him a nod. "Yeah, I think you were right," Mac answered him and then gave her neighbor a loving hug. "Thank you," she whispered into Mrs. Ebenezer's ear and got a little squeeze in response.

"Auntie Mac, I'm hungry," Little AJ suddenly announced and Mrs. Ebenezer and Mac broke their embrace with a laugh.

"Oh, really? Then we better get back to my apartment and find something to eat, huh?"

"Can we have spaghetti?" AJ pleadingly asked, hoping to get his favorite meal tonight.

"Yeah, I think we can manage that," Mac told him with a smile on her face and then once more let her gaze wander to her neighbor. "Would you like to join us for dinner? I'm sure there's more than enough for the five of us."

"Thank you, my dear. But I already ate more cookies than is good for me this afternoon and I still have a little job to conclude," Mrs. Ebenezer mystically answered. "How 'bout another time?" She suggested and let her gaze wander from Mac to Harm and back to her neighbor.

"We hold you to that!" Harm immediately gave her their answer with a sweet smile and then embraced her into a gentle hug. "Thank you for everything," he quietly told Mrs. Ebenezer and then placed a peck on her check.

"You're welcome," she softly responded.

They exchanged their goodbyes and while Harm, Mac and the boys made their way back to the building Mrs. Ebenezer stayed behind. She answered Jimmy and AJ's exciting waves with some of her own until they disappeared behind the heavy door. "Okay, old lady. Time to complete the picture," she told herself out loud and began to do what needed to be done.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Mac's Apartment**

**6:37 PM**

"Okay, boys. Get out of your snowsuits while I start making us supper," Mac told them as soon as they entered her apartment and took off her gloves, coat, and Harm's scarf. Then she looked directly at Harm and gave him a little smile. "And you should change into something dry too before you really get sick," she pointed out and walked into the kitchen to put some water on the stove to boil.

Harm took off his coat and gloves before starting to help Jimmy out of his wool-gloves. "Why don't I give the boys their bath and put them into their PJ's?" He called behind her, unzipping Jimmy's snowsuit.

Mac immediately stuck her head out of the kitchen and shook it. "I think that's a bad idea, Harm," she softly told him.

"How so?" Harm asked, not sure why Mac thought it was a bad idea.

"Well, we are having spaghetti for dinner and I know what happens as soon as Jimmy gets spaghetti placed in front of him," Mac answered him and disappeared back into the kitchen. "I assume you never made spaghetti while Jimmy was around?" She called behind her.

"Nope, can't say I ever have. What does he do?" Harm wanted to know and took off Jimmy's boots and snowsuit, seeing that Little AJ already had taken off his own. "Or don't I want to know?"

Mac chuckled and came out of the kitchen again. She took off her boots and put them right next to the entryway, where Harm had placed his just a few moments earlier. "He loves to eat them with his hands. Okay, wait. Maybe I should say that he loves trying to eat them with his hands. Most of the tomato sauce you will find smeared across his face, hands and clothes. Not to forget the nest made out of spaghetti you can always find on top of his head at the end, right Jimmy?" She asked her younger godson and ruffled his hair.

As if he knew exactly what his aunt was talking about, Jimmy started to giggle and clapped his hands in excitement. Then he ran to his blanket a few feet away and sat down to start playing with his toys.

Harm laughed and shook his head. "Okay, I guess we better let them wear the long underwear they have on now until we're done with dinner. We can bathe and change them afterwards."

Mac nodded. "Now that sounds like a pretty good idea, Squid."

Harm just shrugged his shoulders and gave her one of his flyboy-grins. "I already told you earlier that I do have my moments. Just let me get into some dry pants and then I would like to help you with supper," he said and gave her a short peck on her lips before making his way into Mac's bedroom.

"Afraid I'll burn the sauce?" Mac called behind him with a raised eyebrow, still standing where he'd left her just a few seconds earlier.

"Nah, I'm more worried about you burning the spaghetti," Harm answered at once from the bedroom and completed his statement with a chuckle.

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Navy."

"Well, I'm a very funny man," Harm said, now leaning against the doorframe of Mac's bedroom.

Mac just groaned, shook her head and walked back into the kitchen, closely followed by Harm and Little AJ.

"Auntie Mac, can I call Mom?" AJ asked, already holding Mac's telephone receiver in his hand.

Mac gave him a smile and took the receiver from him. "Sure, Sweetie," she answered him and pressed speed-dial button four for Harriet's cell-phone number. "Here ya go."

"Thanks," Little AJ quickly answered and took the receiver back from Mac. Then he walked out of the kitchen just to find a spot right in front of the sparkling Christmas tree.

Harm and Mac's eyes followed him and as soon as they saw that he got a connection, they turned their attention back to making their supper.

"So, what's your plan? Self-made sauce or something out of a jar?"

"The latter one," Mac answered and put the pasta into the now boiling water.

"Any chance for us to make some self-made tomato sauce for the spaghetti?" Harm asked and already started to rummage through Mac's cabinets.

"I somehow doubt that," she answered and suddenly inhaled sharply when she felt just how close Harm was standing behind her while he opened one of the cabinet doors above her.

"Hmmm," Harm murmured, being preoccupied in his doing and took one of the items out of the cabinet. "A can of peeled tomatoes," he said in triumph and placed it onto the counter before closing the door of the cabinet again.

That's when he finally realized just how close he was standing behind Mac. The sweet smell of her perfume was teasing his senses and her slightly tense posture told him that she was trying her hardest to fight the affect their closeness was having on her.

Harm couldn't resist and slowly pushed some of Mac's hair with his right hand out of the way, so that he could let his tongue softly run over her skin before he started to suck on her ear.

"Harm," Mac quietly moaned while her hands strongly gripped the edge of the counter, trying to find something to hold on to, should her weak legs suddenly give out under her.

She couldn't stop herself and slightly turned her head so that their lips finally met for the so much needed kiss. It started as a sweet and gentle kiss but quickly turned into something more needing and exploratory. Mac's palms softly grazed Harm's cheeks before she tangled her fingers in his hair at the back of his neck, trying to get him even closer to her.

"Yuck!" Little AJ called from the doorway and Harm and Mac immediately broke their kiss and looked at him. They winced when they heard Harriet's yelling through the phone.

"But Mom," Little AJ whined. "Uncle Harm and Auntie Mac were doing that yucky kissing thing that you and Daddy do too," he tried to explain his earlier outburst and Harm and Mac at once had to groan, knowing that the cat was out of the bag now. The cat, they obviously never had thought about trying to hide in the first place.

"Here, Auntie Mac. Mommy wants to talk with you," Little AJ said and gave his godmother the phone.

Mac took the receiver from her godson and looked with wide-open eyes at Harm, who only shrugged in response. "I guess there's a reason why we haven't thought about hiding it in the first place, Mac," Harm whispered into her ear. "Don't worry about it. Go talk with her while AJ and I take care of dinner."

Mac nodded and took a deep breath. "Hi, Harriet," she greeted her friend and walked into the living room to sit down on her couch. "How's New York?"

_("Oh, the bedroom is fabulous, the room service is exemplary and the bathroom is like every girl's dream come true. Oh and did I tell you just how fabulous the bedroom is?" Harriet enthused between giggles.)_

Mac could only giggle herself while hearing her friend go into raptures about her and Bud's romantic weekend in New York. "Yes you did. Sounds like you two are really enjoying your romantic getaway. How's the weather?"

_("How the heck would I know? But if you want to know it so badly I can take a quick look out of the window and tell you," Harriet immediately answered and shared a short laugh with Mac. "But that's not important anyway. What is my son talking about you and Harm doing this yucky kissing thing?")_

Mac slightly blushed even though her friend wasn't around and cleared her throat. "Yeah… well… look… Harriet, I'm really sorry that we weren't a bit more careful around the kids."

_(Harriet could only chuckle while hearing the uncertainness in Mac's voice. "Mac, don't worry about it, okay? Every kiss that lasts longer than a half second is already a yucky kiss for AJ. So… how long have you and Harm been together?" Harriet wanted to know. "Not that I'm nosy or anything," she added with a giggle. "But I need details.")_

"Ummmm," Mac stammered, not sure how to answer that question.

_("Mac?")_

"Three hours, twenty-four minutes and nineteen seconds," she answered as quick like a shot.

_("Wow!")_

"Yeah, amazing, isn't it?" Mac dreamily responded.

_("Yeah, amazing it sure is. You actually know the exact amount of seconds?" Harriet asked astonished.)_

"Okay, maybe it was seventeen seconds. I'm not quite sure about it."

_("Oh, you mean he found a way to distract you and that inner clock of yours?")_

"He should have a license for his lips. They should be registered as a lethal weapon," Mac confessed before she could stop herself and once more was greeted with laughter from the other side of the phone-line. However, this time it was mixed with a chuckle from her left side.

Mac looked up and right into Harm's shining eyes. He had a proud smile on his face and the only thing Mac could do was to groan.

_("Mac, are you alright?" Harriet asked in worry as soon as she'd heard Mac's groan.)_

"That depends," Mac only answered, never breaking the eye contact between her and Harm.

_("On what?" Harriet now wanted to know, not understanding what was going on with her friend.)_

"On how much of Harm's swelling ego I can handle."

_("Uh oh, he heard you, huh?")_

Mac saw that Harm's grin got even wider, if that was possible, and he obviously tried his best to not laugh out loud. "Ooooh yeah," she answered Harriet and then looked questioningly at Harm. "Is there something you wanted, Harm?" Mac asked, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Harm smirked and nodded his head. "I just wanted to let you know that supper is ready to be served. AJ and I were able to come up with a self-made tomato sauce."

"Okay. Thanks," Mac answered and wanted to go back to her conversation with Harriet but saw that Harm wanted to say something more. "Yes? Is there something more?"

"Yeah, there actually is. Mac, if you think I should have a license for my lips you should see what my hands are capable of doing. You haven't seen a lethal weapon yet," he told her with a wink and without waiting for a reaction he turned around and made his way back into the kitchen, leaving a dumbfounded Mac behind.

_("Mac, did he just…?" Harriet asked, not knowing what to say or think about the statement she'd just heard through the phone from Harm.)_

"Uh huh," Mac only responded, obviously not able to say or think of something while still being dumbfounded about Harm's explanation.

_("Okay. Well, I think he also said something about supper so I better let you go then.")_

"Uh huh," Mac replied while her mind was somewhere else and far, far away.

Just the thought about his hands roaming all over her, made her body shiver in thrill and her tongue moistening her lips in desire.

_("MAC!" Harriet screamed through the phone, apparently trying to get her friend's attention for a while now.)_

"Huh?"

_(Harriet just shook her head, knowing that her friend really had it bad. "I said that I better let you go so you can go and eat your dinner," she repeated her earlier statement.)_

"Yeah, I think I better go now," Mac said and finally remembered what she wanted to talk about with Harriet. "Oh, before I forget. Are you two able to come back tomorrow, or is your flight cancelled?"

_("Bud called the airline earlier and they said the flight should go like scheduled. So we'll be back as planned.")_

"Got it. We're bringing Jimmy and AJ back home as soon as possible, okay?"

_("That's fine. We'll be there," Harriet assured, fighting with herself not to make another remark about Mac's 'we'-comment.)_

"Okay, till tomorrow then. You two enjoy the rest of your weekend now."

_("You guys too," Harriet replied and immediately added with a giggle. "I mean the four of you of course.")_

Mac shook her head and chuckled. "Of course. Good bye, Harriet, and say hi to Bud."

_("Will do. Give the boys a hug and kiss from me, okay?" Harriet asked and again had to add something. "And of course I mean the three of them. Bye, bye.")_

Before Mac could say something more Harriet had hung up on her. She turned off the phone and took a deep breath trying to get herself under control again.

'I can't believe he said that to me,' Mac thought to herself. 'And much more I can't believe just how much power he has over me.' "Damn that man," she muttered to herself and smirked just as the man of her desire and Little AJ walked into the living room, carrying their dinner to the dining table.

"Come on, Marine. I bet you're hungry," Harm said while placing Jimmy into his highchair.

"Oh, I'm hungry in more ways than you know," she quietly responded and was happy that he hadn't heard her since Little AJ was talking with him about the movie they wanted to watch after dinner. "In more ways than you know," Mac softly repeated her words.

And she was hungry. Hungry for dinner, hungry for Harm and most of all hungry for a future with him where the stars would finally be in alignment.

_TBC_


	20. Chapter 20

**AN – I don't want to post the latest installment of ASW without answering all your questions and requests about a sequel to this story or about changing the concept from a snowy weekend to a snowy week. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but a sequel isn't planned. The first reason is the lack of 'THE brilliant idea' to go with and the second reason is the lack of time to work on it. So for now the end of this story will be 'The End'… but you all know the saying… 'never say never'.**

**Thank you, gracias, merci beaucoup, grazie, toda raba and danke schoen for all the reviews and kind words. You gals and guys are amazing!**

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 20_

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

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_

**8:13 PM**

They had finished dinner about twenty minutes ago and while Harm was in the kitchen preparing some popcorn for their movie-night, Mac was still with the boys in her bathroom giving them their much needed bath. Most of all Jimmy was in need of it, since he'd played with his dinner more than he actually ate it, just as Mac had prophesied.

Harm chuckled at the memory of the spaghetti nest on top of his younger godson. Jimmy had looked like a total mess, but still like one of the cutest and adorable things Harm had ever seen in his life. The memory of Jimmy's sparkling eyes, the sauce smeared all over his face and hands together with his happy giggles warmed Harm's heart immensely.

"What's that goofy grin of yours about?" Mac tenderly asked with a smile of her own, leaning relaxed against the doorway.

Harm slightly jumped in surprise since he hadn't noticed her appearance up to now. He slowly turned around to look at her. He shook his head in disbelief of his own jumpiness and chuckled, pointing with his forefinger at her. "You should know better than sneaking up on an old man, Marine. And for how long were you standing there anyway?"

Mac just shrugged her shoulders and slowly moved farther into the kitchen. "Not long, but long enough to see something was on your mind. And I didn't sneak up on you, you were just too deep in your thoughts to notice me," she pointed out and took some popcorn out of the bowl he was holding in his hands before stuffing them into her mouth. "And last but not least, you're not really that old, Harm. So, do tell… what brought that goofy grin onto your face?" She asked once more, hoping he would share his earlier thoughts with her. The smile that had covered his face just now was one of pure joy.

"I was just thinking about Jimmy and how cute and adorable he looked during dinner," Harm gently explained and took the bowl out of Mac's reach when she tried to pilfer some more popcorn. "No, no, no. Not so fast, Marine. These are for our movie-night and you can wait just like the rest of us can."

Mac couldn't have cared less about the popcorn and beamed with joy while thinking about their supper and the way her younger godson had looked just a few minutes earlier. They had laughed a lot through the entire dinner, but most of all when she had tried to get Jimmy to stop playing with his spaghetti so that he actually would start to eat. She'd nearly ended up with a spaghetti-nest of her own and from that moment on she thought better of interfering in his doing. "I'm just glad he got bored with his playing around after a while and actually ate some of the pasta. But yeah, he really looked cute."

Harm nodded his head but said nothing. He just looked at her with a certain expression in his eyes. Mac could see that once again something was on his mind, and that he was fighting with himself about something.

"Hey? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is okay. I was just… thinking," Harm quietly replied.

Mac raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You're doing that quite often these days," she joked but quickly got serious again and continued with a gentle voice. "What were you thinking about?"

"Well, there's actually something I would like to ask you," Harm started to say but then stopped again, not knowing how to continue, how to ask what he'd thought about during the entire afternoon. He shook his head and started to laugh. "God, I feel like a teenager here."

Mac joined him in his laughter. "Oh believe me, I know the feeling," she replied, knowing too well what he was talking about, since she'd caught herself quite a few times during this weekend feeling like a lovesick teenager while being around him. "I would say it's very mutual. Now what is it you wanted to ask me?"

Harm took a deep breath and put the bowl with popcorn down on the kitchen counter so that he could take both of Mac's hands into his, never breaking their eye contact. "Sarah, would you like to go out on a date with me?"

To say she was surprised now would have been the understatement of the year. "A date? You mean as in dinner and maybe a movie or dancing afterwards?" Mac asked astonished, trying her hardest not to start stuttering. 'There ya go again, MacKenzie. Here he is, making you act like a teenager all over again,' she thought to herself, stifling a giggle about her own reaction and behavior.

"Yes… no… kind of," Harm vaguely responded and gave her a sheepish smile.

Mac raised her eyebrow, trying to figure out where he wanted to go with this. "Kind of?"

Nodding his head, Harm let go of her hands so he could lovingly encircle her waist. "I want it to be something special, Mac. Something we haven't shared with any significant others," he softly explained.

Mac copied his move and softly encircled his waist with her arms while his hands pulled her even closer to him so that their bodies nearly melted together. "Like what? Like a restaurant we never went to before?" She asked, while her hands made slow circles on his back, enjoying the feeling of being in his strong arms.

"I'm not quite sure yet, but no, I think I want us to have a date that's unique in each and every way. It just has to be special," he clarified with a voice that was low and husky. By now their faces were inches from each other and they could feel the warmth of each breath they took on their skin.

Mac slowly got on her tiptoes, nuzzling his neck and placed a soft kiss on a certain spot right below his ear. "Every date with you would be something special, Harm." Then she took his earlobe into her mouth, slightly sucking on it. "Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there," she whispered her answer right next to his ear.

He took her face in his palms and gave her a kiss with all the love he felt for her. "You bet I will," he said and after another short but sweet kiss he reluctantly let go of her and took the bowl of popcorn from the kitchen counter. "And now we better go and join the boys, not that they would fall asleep before the movie has started." Harm walked out of the kitchen, closely followed by Mac. "What DVD are we watching anyway? 'Ice Age' or 'The Muppet Christmas Carol'?"

Mac turned off the lights in the kitchen and the living room, so that the room was now only illumined by the lights of the twinkling Christmas tree, a few candles and the flickering of the fireplace, which Harm had lit after they'd finished dinner.

"It took him a while but in the end AJ made up his mind and decided to go with the Muppets," she let him know and saw that Little AJ and Jimmy had already found their seats in front of the coffee table. While Little AJ was lying on his belly with his head propped up on his hands, his little brother sat right next to him, holding his best friend Pooh Bear safely in his arms. Mac saw that he was already getting tired and he had yawned quite a few times while sitting in the bathtub earlier. "I'm not sure how long the two will be awake, but I doubt they're going to see much of the movie."

Harm placed the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table before finding his own seat for the evening and got comfortable on the couch. Mac raised her eyebrow when she saw him practical lying on the couch. "Are you comfy, Harm?"

He just gave her a boyish grin and tapped the space between his outstretched legs. "Come here."

She didn't need to be asked twice and gladly obliged his wish. As soon as she sat between his legs and felt his arms around her body, she took the remote control from the table to turn on the movie. "This is nice," she quietly said, unintentionally trying to cuddle even closer to him.

Harm strengthened his embrace, drawing her even closer to him. Mac shivered as she felt his body so close to hers. "You're not cold, are you?" Harm whispered into her ear, getting from her yet another shiver in response.

"No. No, I'm fine," Mac quietly responded. She took his hand, which lay on her belly, into hers and intertwined their fingers. "I couldn't be better."

Harm put his other hand on top of their intertwined fingers while kissing the top of her head. "Neither could I," he softly let her know before turning his attention to the already started movie.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The movie was barely running for twenty minutes when a scene appeared on the TV screen where Kermit and a few penguins slithered through the iced streets. Harm, Mac and the boys were just laughing about it when Harm suddenly came up with the idea for his first date with Mac. 'Perfect, absolutely perfect,' Harm enthusiastically thought about his plan and immediately a wide grin covered his face. He placed his mouth right next to Mac's left ear. "Mac?" He whispered, trying to get her attention.

"Hmm," she quietly replied and turned her head a bit so that she could look deeply into his gleaming eyes.

"What are you doing Thursday, December the twenty-third?" He continued speaking in a whisper.

Mac frowned, not sure where he wanted to go with this question. "I'm not sure. It's the first day of my vacation, but I haven't made any plans yet. Why?"

"Good, then I think you have some plans now. Thursday, December the twenty-third. The Rabb pond in Belleville, Pennsylvania," Harm simply said and gave her yet another of his flyboy-grins. "You can write that into your calendar."

"Huh?"

Harm chuckled at the now slightly dumbfound looking Mac. "Okay, let me repeat and rephrase my earlier question to you. Sarah, would you like to go out on a date with me on Thursday, the twenty-third of December? We could have some breakfast together before we drive to Blacksburg to borrow one of the Cessna's to get it ready for a little excursion."

"We're going flying? Can we actually do that at this time of the year? However, so far it sounds like a very nice idea."

"Then let me tell you the rest of it, and the flying shouldn't be a problem. At least not as long it is not snowing. If it does, we have to figure something out. Anyway, I would like us to have our first date at a pond on my grandmother's farm. We could go ice-skating and have a little winter-picnic afterwards. How do you like the sound of it?" Harm softly wanted to know, hoping she liked the idea just as much as he liked it.

Mac shifted a little until she was able to touch his lips with hers. She gave him a short but gentle kiss. "I love it, Harm, and it sounds like a very special idea for our first date. I can't wait. But I should warn you, I have never been ice-skating before so you'll have to teach me."

"Good, then it's a date. And don't worry, I'll teach you how to ice-skate and I will always be close to you, just in case you fall," Harm assured her with a smile. "But there's actually more," he slowly continued, hoping he wouldn't overstep his bounds now and scare her off.

"More? You're not planning for us to go ice-fishing too, right?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "No. But hey, we could do that on our second date."

"Hmmm, our second date. I like the sound of that."

"Oh, that's only the beginning, Sarah MacKenzie. I'm planning on having a lot of dates with you."

"Yeah. I more and more like the sound of it," Mac tenderly said before moving back into her old position and Harm's arms immediately drew her back into his embrace and closer to his body. "And talking about more, there was something more you wanted to tell me about our first date," she reminded him, letting her fingertips slowly move under his sleeve to let them run over his left arm.

Harm took a deep breath and started to nuzzle her ear. "Umm, you know that my vacation starts on the same day as yours, right?"

"Yes, I do."

"And that Mattie is going to spend the holidays with me?"

Mac was just about to answer him when a very tired looking Jimmy appeared right next to them. "Up," he whispered, rubbing his tired eyes with his little fists. Then he held his arms into the air, showing his godmother that he wanted to be picked up. Mac smiled at him and let go of Harm's arm to pick Jimmy up, placing him on top of her so that his head was pillowed on her chest. His thumb instantly found its way into his mouth and he started to suck on it. "I guess this one will be out like a light in a few minutes," Mac quietly said and kissed the top of Jimmy's head. Then she looked at Little AJ, seeing that he was still engrossed by the movie. "Anyway, to answer your question, yes I do remember you telling me about your plans with Mattie. Why?"

"I would like you to spend the holidays with us," Harm told her and Mac immediately turned her head so that she was able to look into his shining eyes. Before she could say anything, Harm held up his hand for her to wait with her response and continued with his proposal. "We could stay at Gram's over night and on our way back home we could pick Mattie up in Blacksburg. We haven't made any plans yet though. The only thing I had to promise her was that we would go sledding on Christmas Day if there is enough snow."

Mac chuckled and shook her head. "That sounds very familiar to me."

"It does, doesn't it? I just hope Mattie's reaction won't be as dramatic as AJ's, if it doesn't work out," Harm said between his own chuckles before he got serious again. "So, what do you think? Would you like to spend Christmas with Mattie and me?"

Mac took a deep breath and started to rub Jimmy's back, getting a gentle and tired sounding sigh from him in response. "Harm, there's nothing I would like more than spending the holidays with you and Mattie, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea. Shouldn't you two spend the little time you have together alone? I'm not sure if Mattie would like to have me around."

"Mac, she would love to have you around. She even told me so on the phone Friday morning."

"You mean you already talked with her about this idea?" Mac asked astonished, surprised that Harm obviously had this plan even before he knew they would spend this weekend together.

"No, at least not the way you think. Mattie was the one who brought it up. She told me to ask you to spend Christmas with us and I have to agree with her, it sounds like a great idea. So please… spend the holidays with us," Harm begged her with a puppy look. "And if we're able to go sledding, we can take Little AJ and Jimmy with us and make up for what we couldn't do this weekend."

"If you're absolutely sure Mattie wouldn't mind, I would love to spend Christmas with the two of you." She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth she felt from the outside against her body, just like the warmth she felt inside, which embraced her heart in the loveliest way.

"She won't. This is perfect. Absolutely perfect," Harm whispered into her hair and kissed her head. Then he turned his attention back to the TV, knowing that he wouldn't be able to refocus on the movie. He was too excited about the outcome of this weekend, knowing that it was the beginning of a dream come true, his dream and most importantly their dream. 'Plain and simple perfect,' Harm soundlessly concluded his thoughts and intensified his embrace to the woman he loved with all his heart.

_TBC_


	21. Chapter 21

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 21_

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

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**9:37 PM**

Harm and Mac had watched the rest of the movie in silence and with much lack of interest. Both were more occupied with their own thoughts about their upcoming first date and the holidays they would spend together with Mattie, than with the running film about the Muppets and their version of the Christmas Carol.

Jimmy had fallen asleep a long time ago, his warm and even breaths softly blowing against Mac's neck. Sometimes he let out a single sigh while a little spittle escaped his mouth and drooled down the edge of his lower lip. Harm and Mac both had interlocked the fingers of their left hands and together gently rubbed Jimmy's back in a soothing manner.

Little AJ never had left his place on the floor right in front of the coffee table and by now was just like his younger brother asleep, using Jimmy's best friend Pooh Bear as his pillow.

"I think it is time to get the two into their beds. Good thing they're already in their PJ's," Harm whispered in Mac's ear and nuzzled her hair, deeply inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo.

"Hmmm," Mac only replied and Harm knew by her reaction that she was barely awake herself and ready for some sleep as well.

"And I think it's time for us to get some sleep too," Harm completed his previous statement and slowly let go of Mac's hand so that she was able to get up from the couch.

He regretted it immediately when he felt bit-by-bit how her warmth faded away from him while she slowly stood up, leaving their self-created cocoon. "'kay," she sleepy murmured and yawned. Mac cradled Jimmy in her arms, letting one of her hands run through his soft hair while kissing his cheek. "You take AJ?"

"Sure." Harm slowly got up from the couch and couldn't suppress a groan, feeling his stiff muscles protesting against his movements.

Mac had heard the groan and stopped midway to look at him with a slightly worried impression on her face. "You okay?"

Harm chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm actually great, thanks. I think I'm just too old for cuddling up on a couch like that," he let her know and immediately had to add his own thoughts about it with a boyish grin. "But it was worth each and every stiff muscle which's screaming at me right now."

"If you want, later I can give you a little massage to get these aches of yours to leave," Mac responded with a heart-warming smile and then winked at him. "Guess the next time we simply have to reverse the positions a bit so that I'm on the bottom and you can be on top." Without waiting for his reply she turned around and walked into the guestroom to get Jimmy into his crib.

"I like the way you think," Harm only commented with a grin before getting his older godson up from the floor and into his secure arms. "Come on, buddy. It's time for bed," he softly said when he felt Little AJ stirring.

"'kay," Little AJ murmured more asleep than awake and threw his arms around Harm's neck while circling his little legs around his godfather's waist.

Harm had to chuckle when he heard his godson starting to snore against his neck right away, his warm breath slightly tickling him. "It's been a long day and a long weekend. No wonder we are all tired and ready for the sandman," Harm whispered more to himself than to his godson and followed Mac into her guestroom, gently placing Little AJ into his bed.

As soon as AJ and Jimmy were tucked in and had received their goodnight kisses from their godparents, Mac switched off the ceiling light and only left the little nightlight near the crib on. Then she took the baby monitor with her and followed Harm back to the living room.

"That was easier than I thought," Mac gently said and moved to the Christmas tree to turn the lights on it off for the night before she walked over to the coffee table to place the baby monitor right next to the still burning candles.

"Yeah, they're out like a light. Let's hope they're able to sleep through the night this time," Harm gently added while checking out the fire, still burning lightly in Mac's fireplace. He put the fireplace screen in front of it and blew out the candles on the mantle. Then he made his way to Mac's entertainment center to turn off the TV and DVD player.

"If they are as groggy as I am, it shouldn't be a problem," Mac quietly said with a smile before it changed into a huge yawn. She let herself fall back onto the couch just to throw her feet on the coffee table. Mac closed her eyes and leant her head against the back of the couch, enjoying the quietness around her.

"Why…," Harm started to say and took a seat at the edge of the coffee table right in front of Mac, gently taking her left foot into his hand. "… don't I take a quick shower and then I could prepare a hot bubble bath for you?"

Mac sighed deeply and kept her eyes closed. "This feels like heaven, thank you," she whispered when Harm started to massage her foot. "And your idea sounds like heaven too. I'm just worried that I'm going to fall asleep in the tub," she jokingly replied and finally opened her eyes to look into his shining ones.

Harm shrugged his shoulders and gave her one of his flyboy-grins. "Don't worry about that. If you should drown, I'm there to rescue you. I'm a squid after all."

"True," Mac agreed with a wink and suddenly gave a small yelp when Harm hit a particularly sore spot on her foot, jerking it away from him in response.

He just shook his head with a chuckle and pulled her foot back into his lap to continue with his massage, soon feeling her relax again. "And keep in mind that if you fall asleep on me, you won't be able to repay me with your promised massage." Harm slowly let go of Mac's left foot just to take her right one into his hand, giving it the same attention and began to massage it as well.

"How bad is your back?" Mac asked in worry and had to close her eyes once more, when Harm's fingers softly kneaded her other foot. She could practically feel how the tension was slowly but steady leaving her body.

"If I answer with an 'it's not that bad', will I still get the massage?" Harm inquired with a puppy dog look.

Mac had to giggle when she opened her eyes and saw the look on his face, which reminded her so much of Little AJ's face on more than one occasion. "Yeah, I think that can be arranged," she told him in a whisper and copied his sweet little smile. "After this magic foot-rub it's the least I can do."

Harm gave her foot a last squeeze before slowly letting go of it. "Just give me a few minutes to shower and to get your bath ready." Harm got up from the table and kissed her forehead. "Just don't fall asleep on me here, Marine," he said with a wink and then made his way to the bedroom.

Mac pulled her feet from the table and got up from the couch to stretch her tired, but now more relaxed body. "Nah, I'm going to clean up a bit. That should occupy me for a while," she let him know with a smile and took the empty popcorn bowl from the coffee table. "Enjoy your shower," she said to Harm, who stood in the doorway of her bedroom.

"Will do," he quickly answered while Mac brought the bowl and some dirty glasses into the kitchen. She filled the dishwasher with the dishes from dinner and their movie night before placing the water bottles and juice cartons they'd used earlier back into the fridge.

When she was done in the kitchen, Mac moved back into the living room and to the door of her bedroom to make sure that Harm was already in the shower. When she could hear the water of the shower running, she walked to the coffee table to blow out the candles, took the baby monitor with her and quickly entered the bedroom. Mac wanted to use the time that Harm was in the shower, to get out of her clothes and into her bathrobe.

**xxxxx**

**Meanwhile in the bathroom**

Harm had turned on the shower and as soon as the water was hot enough he moved forward and underneath the steamy jet of water. He closed his eyes in relief and raised his head a bit so that the water was hitting him right in the face.

For a moment Harm let the water massage his tired body before he blindly fumbled for the shower gel right next to him, just to grab at nothing but the air. "Shit," he cursed to himself, realizing that he'd forgotten to take the shower gel and shampoo with him earlier.

Without bothering to turn off the shower, he quickly took a towel from the towel bar and threw it around his hips before making his way out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom, where his bag was sitting.

**xxxxx**

"Whoa," Harm, taken by surprise, yelped out loud as soon as he entered the bedroom and saw that Mac was standing in front of her closet, with her back turned to him. It wasn't her presence in the room that'd made him yelp like that, but rather her appearance and what she was wearing, or for the matter, not wearing.

He knew he should close his eyes, but his brain simply didn't seem to function anymore and he looked, or rather stared at her, with wide-open eyes. 'God is she beautiful,' was the only thought running through his mind.

Mac jumped in surprise when she'd heard Harm's yelp behind her and turned around in pure reflex, not realizing that she was showing him now even more of her nearly naked body.

"Wow," Harm whispered the only word he could come up with, being completely perplexed by the sensation of her body.

Seeing the backside of her and noticing that she was wearing a string thong had made his head swim. But this, seeing the matching snow-white lacey bra she was wearing, would have knocked him out of his socks if he had some on. The rapid rising and falling of her chest showed him that she was obviously just as affected by their situation as he was, and Harm ordered himself to let his eyes meet hers. Finally he moved his gaze away from her torso, only to see that Mac's eyes wouldn't meet his and that they were rigidly glued to his own heavy rising and falling chest.

"Mac…I," Harm started to say, but didn't seem able to find the words. "I'm sorry…I didn't know…," he continued to stammer and slowly started to move forward. "… I didn't know you would be here…."

He took another step forward and still got no reaction from her at all, her eyes were still glued to the droplets of water on the upper part of his body. "… I just forgot…." Harm pointed at the bag, which stood right next to her. "… forgot to take the shampoo and…." The closer he got to her and the more he could take in the sweet and unique smell of her, the harder it was for him to explain what he apparently thought he needed to explain. "… and the shower gel…. Yeah, the shower gel I forgot," he whispered the end of his explanation, emphasizing it with a strong nod just to freeze suddenly in his steps when Mac made a step of her own backwards.

Harm didn't move, afraid that he'd overstepped the line and that she was taking a step backwards to get away from him. He frowned when Mac suddenly took another step backwards, even though he didn't continue to move forward to her. "Mac," he quietly called her, but her eyes still wouldn't meet his. "Let me just get my stuff, and I'll be out of your way," he said with a slightly stronger voice and once again pointed with his forefinger at his bag on the floor.

Mac still didn't say anything and the room was slowly filling with silence, only interrupted by their heavy breathing. She then took yet another step backwards and walked into the door with such force it slammed shut. Harm and Mac both jumped in surprise by the loud noise and finally their eyes met for the first time since Harm had entered the room.

When he saw in the corner of his eyes that Mac's lips were moving he couldn't stop himself and let his eyes wander to her lips, only to see that the tip of her tongue slowly came out to lick the bottom part of her moist, and for him very inviting lips. Suddenly it seemed like all the oxygen had gone from the room and Harm didn't even realize that he was holding his breath.

When the need for oxygen became increasingly intense, Harm took a deep breath, only to let out a ragged gasp when he saw Mac's right hand slowly and blindly wandering to the lock of the door behind her. Harm thought she was trying to detect the doorknob so she could open the door again and get away from him and therefore, he was more than astonished when he could hear her slowly turning the knob and then the unmistakable 'click' of the lock followed.

Harm moved his gaze from the door back to Mac just to see her taking a deep breath and that she once more was staring at his still rapid moving chest. He didn't know how he should react and simply stood there, waiting.

He didn't need to wait long for her reaction. After just a few seconds Mac slowly took two little steps forwards so that she was standing directly in front of him. She could feel his hot, uneven breaths against her skin and without taking her eyes from his wet and fast moving chest she tenderly put her right hand onto it, immediately getting a hiss from deep within him as response.

Mac slowly let her fingertips run from his collarbone over his ribcage just to follow the narrow trail of hair down south to his bellybutton. "You are so beautiful," Mac whispered her first words since he'd surprised her against his chest before she moved her head lightly forward, finally able to touch his breastbone with her soft lips.

"Mac," Harm rasped weakly, trying his hardest to keep himself under control, which was barely possible while feeling the tip of her tongue gently running over his damp body. His body already had reacted when he saw her standing there, nearly naked, but her touch was his undoing, and he knew that it wouldn't take long for her to figure out just how much he wanted her, needed her.

Without his knowledge Harm had started to clench his hands into fists and only realized it when he slowly lifted his arms a bit to let his hands softly run up her arms. Finally he took her face into his palms and pulled her head away from his neck so that he could look deeply into her eyes. "Sarah, if you think I'm beautiful, the world has to come up with a word that describes your beauty."

Just one look into Mac's eyes showed him all the love, desire and passion she felt for him, knowing that his eyes were showing the same feelings he was having for her. He moved his face down a bit so that their faces were mere inches away from each other. "Mac, have you any idea what you're doing to me," he asked with a hoarse voice, his lips barley touching hers.

Mac's gaze slowly moved to Harm's lips before she once more looked up and deeply into his eyes, licking her lips. "If I'm doing to you what you're doing to me, than I think we're both in a lot of trouble right now," Mac whispered, trying to get her breathing under control again but failed when Harm's lips were suddenly crushing down on hers.

The kiss was hot, passionate, and demanding while it was still full of love and sweetness. It seemed like they were putting all the sexual tension and their feelings for each other, which were slowly building over the years, into this one kiss. They'd shared quite a few kisses thorough out the years, but none of them could compare to this single one.

Mac made the final step forward and closed the distance left between them, both moaning the moment their bodies finally came together, skin on skin. She wound her arms around his neck and ran her hands through his thick hair, trying to pull him even closer to her. The moment she felt his tongue on her lips she moaned and opened her mouth to welcome him. Harm's tongue slipped into her warm mouth and their tongues dueled, seeking and probing for more while their kiss grew and grew.

Harm's hands weren't idle either and let go of her face, tenderly running down her back, finding their place on her buttocks, pulling her body even closer to his and where he wanted her the most.

Mac grinded herself against him and both moaned once more at the contact. Both knew that their legs would give out soon and together, without breaking their kiss, they started to move in unison, trying to find their way to Mac's bed. Harm took a little step backward while Mac took the step forward.

When the need for air made them break their kiss, Harm started to place sweet kisses all over her face while their breathing was erratic. Finally his legs bumped against the edge of Mac's bed, while Mac took his head into her hands to caress his lips with a kiss full of love and desire. Harm slowly sat down on the bed without breaking their kiss. Then he tightened his hold on her and tenderly pulled her into his lap.

The moment Mac straddled his lap they both had to break their kiss with a moan. While she started trailing kisses down his neck to his chest, Harm was slowly slipping his hands up her smooth legs, passing through her back until reaching the clasp of her bra. "Sarah," he gasped and Mac immediately lifted her head to look into his flaming eyes of desire.

"Yeah," came her raspy reply.

Harm's left hand let go of the clasp of Mac's bra to cup her face into his palm. "Before we go any further, are you sure this is really what you want?" He asked, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop himself if they continued. "There is nothing I would like to do more than make love to you, but if you're not sure, honey, we better stop now before I totally loose all my self control."

Mac licked her lips and let them touch his for a short but sweet kiss. Then she turned her head and planted a soft tender kiss on the palm of his hand. "Yes, I'm more than sure. I want this, Harm. I want you. I want you to make love with me."

That was all he needed to know. Harm let his tongue follow the line of the pulse on her neck and slowly started to lay back onto the bed, taking her with him. Then he let his mouth hungrily descend on hers, kissing her hard and needy while Mac's lips immediately parted. His fingers were running through her hair, holding her head in place while his tongue slipped into her warm mouth. Their tongues dueled and explored with a passion they'd never perceived before.

Harm let his hands run down her neck and back, until he reached the clasp of her bra. Then he broke their kiss and deeply looked into her shining eyes. "I love you, Sarah," he tenderly told her before gently letting his fingers open the tab of her bra. Then he let his fingers run up to her shoulders, slowly peeling the straps of the bra down her arms before letting it fall down on the floor.

Before she was able to say something Harm moved beneath Mac and pressed her back to the bed and pillows.

Mac smiled up at him while he hovered above her. Her hands ran down the upper part of his body and under the rim of the towel, which was still covering his hips. "I love you too, Harm," Mac huskily whispered before she lovingly peeled the towel off of his body while his lips were crushing down on hers to another searing kiss.

Soon everything around them faded into a blur and was non-existent. The only relevant thing in their world was their love and their being together. No more words were needed and both let their eyes and bodies speak what they felt for each other.

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

**AN – Sorry, I'm a bit late today… but it's hopefully not too late :-) And yes, there's one more part... but that's it then. Big thanks to everyone and here's part 22 (Enjoy! I hope...)  
**

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 22_

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

* * *

_

**11:58 PM**

Their lovemaking had been frantic and demanding at times, slow and tender at others. They'd expressed their love for each other in a way they'd never done with anybody else before. It'd been as if they'd made love for the very first time, and both knew it was because they'd never made love while being in love before.

Harm and Mac were totally satisfied and spent from their lovemaking; the only sound in the room was their still uneven breathing. A soft blanket was covering their legs and midsection while the upper parts of their bodies were bare, only covered with a light blanket of sweat.

Harm had pillowed his head on Mac's chest, letting his fingertips slowly run over her abdomen and around her bellybutton. After a short while he stopped mid-motion, placing his palm on the middle of her tummy. He moved his head downwards a bit until he was able to replace the hand with his lips, placing a few gentle kisses on her soft skin.

Mac took a deep breath and laid her hand on Harm's head, starting to let her fingers run through his thick hair.

"Mac," Harm whispered, his hot and now more even breaths tickling her still over-sensitive skin.

"Hmmm," she replied while being deeply in thoughts.

Harm turned his head a bit so that he could look at her, seeing the shining in her eyes and the sweet smile that covered her face. A boyish and somehow embarrassed grin suddenly covered his face and it surprised Mac to actually see him blush a little. "Umm… I know we should have talked about this before… I mean, we didn't use any…," he started to explain only to be stopped by Mac's fingertips on his lips.

Mac nodded her head, knowing exactly where he wanted to go with this. "I know, Harm. And I know there's nothing to worry about. We both had our physicals recently and I know we would have told each other if something wasn't okay."

"Absolutely. And I wasn't worried about it for a second."

"Then I think we're more than okay, Harm," she let him know and then continued with a lower voice. "We both also know it is a given that the chances of me getting pregnant are slim to nonexistent."

"But there's still a chance," Harm softly replied with a little smile before he scooted up a bit and softly kissed her lips, settling himself between her legs. "This has been a magical weekend, so who knows," he continued confidently.

"True," Mac agreed with a smile of her own. "Very true."

"And I can't say that it worries me either," Harm honestly answered with a glimmer in his eyes, the smile still in place. "What about you? Would it be okay for you or would it be too soon?"

"Definitely not too soon. I mean, I wanted it to happen for over five years now." Mac's smile broke into a huge grin. "Do you remember what I said in court while you were trying to get custody of Mattie?" She wanted to know, letting her fingertips slide up and down his sweat bathed back.

"Each and every word," Harm gave her his answer at once just to let one of his flyboy grins she loved so much follow. "You said that you'd given it a lot of thought to the kind of man you would want to be the father of your children if you ever… and that I'm that kind of man."

This time Mac was the one who nodded her head, slightly surprised that he actually remembered every word she'd said that day. "Yes. I have to admit though that… umm…," she started to say, letting her lips barely touch his. "That day I didn't tell the judge the whole truth. Come to think of it, you could say that I lied a little."

Harm just looked at her with a raised eyebrow, but before he could even question her, Mac continued with her explanation.

"The truth is that you are not that KIND of man. You, Harmon Rabb Jr., are the ONLY man I want to have as the father of my children. You always were and you always will be. So should I really be pregnant after tonight, you've made me the happiest woman on earth. Not that I'm not one already."

Harm kissed her tenderly and let his fingertips dance over her still damp body, causing goose bumps to form. "Then we are the two happiest people on earth," Harm said against her lips before he let his tongue follow the line of the pulse on her neck.

Mac suddenly started to giggle and Harm's head shot up to look at her in astonishment. "Are you ticklish?"

"Nope," she answered breathlessly between giggles.

"Then what's so funny?" Harm wanted to know.

"The shower."

"Huh?"

"I just realized that it's still running," Mac told him, trying her best to get herself under control again.

"Oh shit!" Harm cried out and in one swift motion jumped out of the bed to run into the bathroom, not caring about his nakedness.

His reaction was too much for Mac and she burst out laughing while holding her belly.

"Aarrrggghhh," Harm suddenly yelped as the cold water hit him full force while he tried to reach the knob of the shower. He quickly turned it off and took a towel from the towel bar, toweling his body.

When he came back to the bedroom, he could see that Mac was by now laughing so hard that tears were running down her cheeks. "You think that's funny, huh?"

Mac nodded her head. "Yup, sure do. You should have seen yourself when you jumped out of bed," she tried to tell him between her laughter and Harm was barley able to understand her. "Hilarious. Just hilarious."

Harm leaned back against the doorway, shook his head and could only join Mac in her laughter.

"I'm so sorry about that, Mac. I guess I was a bit too occupied to notice that the shower was still running," Harm sheepishly said with a grin as soon as they had their laughter under control again, pointing with his head to the direction of the bathroom. "I'll take full responsibility for your next water bill."

Mac slowly threw the blanket back and got out of bed to pick the towel, her bra and panties up from the floor, feeling that his eyes were following every move of hers. Then she turned her head and looked at Harm with a smirk. "Harm, I think it's more than safe to say that we were both too engaged with something else to realize that the water was still running," she replied and tossed the towel and articles of clothing into the hamper. "It's no big deal."

She walked over to him and threw her arms around his neck, letting her fingers run through his thick hair. "However, if you feel like doing some cost sharing, you could invite me over to your apartment so I can use your shower once in a while," Mac submitted seductively while Harm's hands were slowly roaming down her back just to cup her buttocks.

He squeezed her behind and pulled her towards him so that their bodies molded together. "Hmm, I think that can be arranged," he huskily answered against her lips, letting a kiss full of passion and desire follow.

"Good. Now that that's settled I think we better get dressed and try to get some sleep," Mac quietly said reluctantly as soon as they broke their kiss. She wasn't sure if Little AJ would once again wake up in the middle of the night to join them in her bed, but she wouldn't dare risk being caught by him.

Harm nodded his head, suddenly remembering that they weren't alone in the apartment, and with reluctance they let go of each other so that they could get dressed for the night. Harm pulled on a pair of boxers and an undershirt, while Mac remembered Harm's wish from last night and opened the door of her closet to take a pair of panties and her cowboy PJ's out of it. She closed her closet again and started to get dressed, just to stop midway while buttoning her pajama top.

Harm, who was watching her from the bed, knew exactly what had caught her eyes and smiled while his planned comment about her sexy pajamas was already forgotten. "It looks good, doesn't it?" He softly asked and brought Mac out of her thoughts.

She took her eyes from their uniforms, which hung next to each other on her closet door, and let them wander to Harm. She saw his smile and it immediately brought a smile onto her face as well. "Yeah, it looks like it belongs that way," she quietly answered him and made her way to the bedroom door to unlock it.

Then she walked over to the bed and without bothering to pull on the pants of her pajamas she slipped back into bed and under the covers, right into Harm's awaiting arms. "That's because it does belong that way," Harm replied with a strong but still soft voice and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Sarah," he whispered into her hair before turning off the lamp on the nightstand. "Love you."

"Yes it does; together and always next to each other. I love you, too," Mac gently repeated his words before she moved a little to give his lips a lovingly kiss. "Good night, Harm," she said and moved back into her old position.

Harm was lying on his back while Mac's head rested on his left shoulder. Their bare legs were intertwined and Harm's hand softly ran up and down Mac's back. Her hand wasn't idle either, gently caressing his chest under his shirt.

Both closed their eyes with the knowledge that it wouldn't take long for them to fall asleep. They were exhausted from their earlier lovemaking and all the excitement they lived throughout this magical weekend.

_TBC_


	23. Chapter 23

_A Snowy Weekend – Part 23_

_Disclaimer - See part one for all important information

* * *

_

**Monday**

**December 13, 2004**

**Mac's bedroom**

**5:43 AM**

The heavenly scent of fresh-brewed coffee awoke Harm from his deep slumber. Slowly he opened one of his eyes and was greeted by the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen, coming from the woman of his dreams. Harm opened his other eye as well, slowly letting them roam all over her. He could see that she'd already showered and was no longer wearing her cowboy PJ's but rather his flannel shirt from yesterday.

"Good morning, Sunshine," he said with a sleepy voice and rubbed his tired eyes.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," Mac responded before giving him a loving kiss. "I thought you would never wake up."

"What time is it?" Harm stretched his tired body before placing his pillow against the headboard of the bed so that he could sit against it.

Mac took one cup of coffee from the tray, which she had placed on the bed right in front of her and handed it over to Harm, who immediately took a long gulp from the hot drink. "It's still early. To be exact, it's five-forty-four."

Harm groaned as soon as he heard her answer. "That, for sure, I call early."

Mac smiled, already knowing that Harm wasn't really a morning person. "I know, but I thought we two could enjoy a little breakfast in bed before the kids demand theirs," she told him softly and rearranged her position on the bed, finding the perfect place for her on Harm's lap.

Harm placed his cup of coffee on the nightstand and took Mac's head in his palms to give her a proper good-morning-kiss. He slowly let his tongue run over her lips and with a moan she immediately opened her mouth to welcome him. His tongue slipped into her warm mouth, tangling with hers to seek more. "Hmmm, I like the way you think, Marine," he said against her lips and let his hands roam over her back before pulling her even closer to him. "And I like how my shirt looks on you. It suits you much better than me."

"Thank you," she sweetly said and took her own cup of coffee from the tray to take a long gulp.

"I do have to ask though. How come you already showered and I never even heard you? And may I add that it happens quite a lot these days."

"Simple," Mac immediately replied and winked. "I wore you out last night, Sailor, and you were sleeping like a baby." Quickly she placed a little kiss on his nose before she finished her sentence. "And you really look cute when you're asleep."

"I do, huh?" He simply responded with a boyish grin and then looked at the items on the tray. "So, what are we having for breakfast?"

"Well, how does croissants with scrambled eggs, some fresh juice and seasonal fruits sound?"

"Hmmm, like I've gone to heaven," Harm dreamily raved and licked his lips. He opened his mouth and welcomed the still warm piece of croissant Mac was holding in front of him. Then he took the fork from the tray and picked up some of the scrambled eggs to feed Mac this time.

Their breakfast quickly turned into a romantic feeding-game while they fed all of the food Mac had prepared for them to each other, only broken by the many kisses they shared in between.

However, about an hour later they could hear through the baby monitor that the boys started to awake and knew their time had run out and that their romantic breakfast was over.

"Why don't you take a quick shower while I get the boys ready? We should be done by the time you are out of the shower and maybe then you could make their breakfast while I'm getting dressed," Mac proposed and gently kissed him on his lips.

"Sounds like a plan," he responded and with one last kiss they separated to get done with each of their tasks.

The rest of the morning in Mac's apartment went without any nameable incidents, and as soon as AJ and Jimmy were done with their breakfast, they were all getting ready for the day.

"AJ, do you have your and Jimmy's bags?" Mac asked while she helped Jimmy into his boots and jacket.

"Yup, Auntie Mac," Little AJ answered and showed her the two little bags he was holding in his hands.

Mac looked at AJ and gave him a grateful smile. "Great," she told him and quickly kissed Jimmy's nose just to get a little giggle from him in response. Then she got up from her knees and took her coat from the coat rack.

"Okay, I'm all done," Harm announced the moment he came out of the bedroom, already wearing his coat, cover and gloves.

"So are we," Little AJ quickly answered him with a wide grin.

"Then I guess it's time to hit the road," Harm told the group and made his way to the apartment door.

Mac grabbed his arm, stopping him midway. "Umm, Harm. Didn't you forget something?"

He looked down at himself, trying to figure out what she meant but couldn't find a clue. "Not that I'm aware of."

Mac simply pointed with her forefinger at a certain box on her dining table.

"Damn," Harm quietly murmured and groaned, walking to the table. "Oh great, I totally forgot about them," he explained and took the box from the table.

Mac opened her apartment door and waited for Harm while Little AJ and Jimmy already walked out to the hallway. "What's your plan? The general wants to have them by tomorrow."

Harm just shrugged his shoulders and followed his godsons out of the apartment. "I'm not sure yet. But I'll find a way, even if it means working throughout the entire night."

"Want some help?" Mac asked with a little seductive look and unintentionally licked her lips.

Harm moved his head forward, so that his mouth was nearly touching her ear. "You bet I want you to help me, but somehow I doubt we'll get done with the files then," Harm huskily whispered into her ear and then kissed it.

"Oh no, that's where you're wrong. No dessert before all the homework is done, Harmon," Mac told him with a faked motherly voice and immediately got a groan from him in response.

"You are very cruel, Ms. MacKenzie," Harm said, just to let a quick kiss on her lips follow.

"Really? Hmmm, last night you thought very differently, Mr. Rabb," Mac countered with a smirk and then looked at the box he was holding. "Why don't you leave the box here? If you want, we can come back to my apartment tonight and work on them. Or do you need the files at work today?"

"No, I have court all day so that shouldn't be a problem."

"So, would you like to come home with me tonight?"

Harm quickly walked back into her apartment and placed the box on her coffee table before he came back to her. "You don't have to ask me twice," he let her know and kissed her cheek before he walked away and joined the boys.

'Didn't think so,' Mac thought to herself, closed the door behind her and locked it while Harm, AJ and Jimmy were already running down the hallway to the stairs, each of them trying to be the first at the heavy door that would lead them to the parking lot.

She smiled to herself, enjoying the sounds that were coming from her boys while Harm chased behind his godchildren. All three were laughing and giggling the entire time and Mac chuckled when Jimmy suddenly yelped out loud, knowing that Harm had caught him. Mac took a last look at her apartment door and then slowly turned around to follow Harm and the boys.

With closing the door she also had closed the chapter of their snowy and most of all magical weekend. A weekend that would lead them to a future filled with many challenges, quite a few adventures, and some good experiences just like some bad ones. A future they would face and survive together with the power of their undying love.

This weekend was only the first chapter of Harm and Mac's book called 'Us' and many more chapters of their tale would follow. And in only a few weeks Harm and Mac would find out just how magical this weekend had really been…

_**… The End…**_

**_Epilogue_**

"Mac, come on. You have to see this," Harm called the moment she walked out of the building and she noticed that he and the boys were standing in front of Mr. and Mrs. Snowman. A wide grin had taken place on his face, and Mac wasn't sure if his, AJ's or maybe Jimmy's smile was the brightest one.

"What's all the hoopla about?" Mac asked as she joined him and the boys. Harm immediately pointed at the snowmen but didn't answer her since someone else took care of it.

"Look, Auntie Mac. Mr. and Mrs. Snowman became mommy and daddy overnight," Little AJ excitingly told her and just like his godfather, pointed with the forefinger at the snowmen.

Mac took in the picture in front of her and at once noticed the little snowman between the two bigger ones. Then she looked with a raised eyebrow at Harm and smirked, knowing exactly who built the little snowman after they went back to her apartment last night.

"Mrs. Ebenezer," they both said at the same time and laughed before walking hand-in-hand with a big smile on their faces and the two little Roberts' in tow to Harm's car, ready to face the first weekday of their new journey together...

_**… The End … and this time for real (unless the brilliant idea hits me :-))**_

**I can't believe it is over already. I thank you all for reading my story and most of all for the comments you sent me throughout this little holiday tale about our favourite couple. This story is very special for me and therefore all your support and kind words meant and means more to me than you'll ever know. So, thanks again.**

**And last but not least to quote Clement C Moore out of his masterwork 'The Night Before Christmas'… Happy Christmas to all. And to all a good-night! - Love, Michaela**


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